WITCH'D: The War on Meridian
by Devon Laurel
Summary: Comics Redone.The WITCH girls and a new member are crowned the new guardians. There mission to defeat Phobos is made even harder when they hide secrets in their lives. And when Kandracar hides secrets from them..
1. Issue 1: Halloween

**Hello dudes and dudettes. This story is basically the comic issues ( yes all of them ) with an OC, and – of course – surprises here and there… ok fine everywhere. But don't worry, the OC won't be the main character out of all the main characters (like **_**some**_**one (*coughwillcough*), but will have a fair part.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H, I only own my OC**

Issue 1: Halloween.

Infinity. Most thought of it to be a dark, endless universe. But no, on the contrary, infinity is Kandracar, a place where there is no time or room, a place where the Congrega's temple lies, here in the middle of nowhere. Congrega's temple that floats on clouds in a place of peace and honesty. You may come closer but be quiet. The Oracle is about to speak.

The Oracle sat in a vast room, with peaceful creatures of all shapes and sizes sitting around him. They were known as the council. Behind him was his faithful advisor Tibor, who, like everyone else in the room, remained silent. It was clear this being known as the Oracle was very powerful and was respected greatly by these people.

In front of him floated six glassy orbs, one of the brightest pink, another of the purest ocean blue, a third with the color of burning flames, yet another of a green found only in the most conserved environments (on Earth, that is), a fifth of a misty silver, and the last of the darkest black. All had a weird symbol on… well not actually _on_ them, they seemed like they were floating within them.

"The time is running out, brothers and sisters. The veil is in danger!" spoke the Oracle. His voice was calm, yet you directly knew that what he said was urgent. The members of the council all exchanged worried glances. Some eyes shown with fear, but those eyes were few. The council was a brave one.

"The guardians have to start protecting Earth once again," he announced. This brought curiosity to the faces of the council.

"Who are chosen this time, Oracle?" asked one of them, speaking for all of them. Tibor, who until now, had been looking straight ahead, looked to the Oracle. He too, was curious to know who the new guardians were.

"Five young girls, Althor," the creature's, now known as Althor, eyebrows raised. The rest of the council's reactions were similar.

"Humans?!" exclaimed one of them, not believing what the Oracle had just announced. Surely after what happened last time, he wouldn't choose humans again?!

"Magical creatures, Luba," corrected the Oracle, "Nature is their friend, Earth is their mother and each of them can control the forces of nature." He stopped to raise his hand, summoning the silver orb.

"Air," he declared. The orb shone brightly then floated back to its place, "Water," this time, the blue orb imitated its fellow orb before floating back. "Earth," this time the green one, "Fire," for the orange one, "Darkness," for the black one. A few eyes narrowed at this. Everyone knew of the Oracle's decision to bring back the Darkness orb but some were still uncertain if it was the right decision. After all, what happened many years ago was not something easily forgotten.

"And her," the pink one imitated the others.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_A glass pendant trapped a redheaded girl inside it. Her eyes were big and brown, and at the moment, shone in complete terror and confusion! What is happening, thought the poor girl desperately. Suddenly, the glass around her shattered and she shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain of glass shooting into her arm. But she felt nothing. Except the sinking feeling that she was falling!_

"_Will!"_

_She opened her eyes once the feeling vanished and found that she was surrounded by flames. Yet she couldn't even feel the heat, much less get burnt. At least I'm standing on solid ground, she thought, trying anything for good news in this weird place._

"_Will!" _

_Suddenly the ground beneath her gave way and she saw rocks flying over. No. she was falling beneath the rocks! The rocks vanished and she felt herself floating. There was a moment of peace. _

"_Will!"_

_Then a fierce wind started blowing, threatening to blow her petite frame into nothingness once again._

"_Will!"_

_The wind didn't stop but a shower did. The rain fell so hard and so much. She dropped to her knees and borrowed her face into her hands. Suddenly the rain stopped._

"_Will!"_

_The wind lessened but was still there. The girl got a sinking feeling in her stomach that she couldn't quite place. She chanced a glance through her fingers. Nothing. She was suspended in an endless space of darkness._

"_WILL!"_

Will bolted awake, almost jumping out her seat in the cramped car.

"Woah," she breathed, remembering her dream. Or rather, nightmare.

"Wake up Will," urged her mother next to her. She sneaked a glance at her daughter and saw that she was awake. She quickly turned her eyes back to the road. "Did you have nightmare?" even though she knew the answer. It was clear on Will's face.

"Yep,' confirmed Will, clutching her forehead with her hand, "There was a horrible storm…" she trailed of leaving it at that. It was just too weird.

"Well, the weather isn't any better here," commented Will's mother Susan. As if to prove her point, she turned on the radio.

"_And the horrible weather continues to…" _she shut it off again. Will didn't have to listen to the radio or look out the window to know that her mother was right. She could hear the splashing of rain on the windows and even the howl of the wind from outside.

Either way, she looked out the window to the city they had just moved to… what was its name again…. oh yeah, Heatherfield. While she was sleeping, they had reached their new home. Will still didn't like to think of it that way. To her, her home was still in Fadden Hills. She was _not_ impressed with what she saw here.

"Is THIS Heatherfield," she asked, disgust dripping of her words. Even though she knew the answer, there was a part of her that still clung onto hope and wished her mother would answer, "Of course not dear, we're just passing through this horrible place." But of course, that was not the case here.

"Yes it is! I'm sure everything will look brighter tomorrow!" responded Susan enthusiastically. Will turned to her mother in disbelief.

"My school starts tomorrow, mom," she said, hoping to get her mother to understand that with a new school and people she doesn't know and was sure to make a fool of herself in front of, no way tomorrow would be brighter. Again, this was not the case.

"Isn't it great!" said her mother, a goofy smile oblivious to her daughter's sufferings plastered on her face. It had been there the whole trip, and Will doubted it would be gone any time soon either.

"I knew she would come, Vathek," hissed a man to his partner as Will and her mother parked in front of their apartment and walked to the trunk of their car. The man and his companion were on the other side of the street, standing at a bus stop so not to look like they were spying on the redhead. They were both wrapped in cloaks and both wore hats and scarves hiding there faces. The man, unlike his partner, was built fairly well (it was hard to tell because of the cloak he was wearing, but it was anyone's best guess). His partner was very large, anyone could tell, with or without the cloak.

"She hates this town but will be ok," predicted the thinner man in his snakelike voice as Susan handed Will one of the moving boxes. Will took the box from her mother and it opened and spilled all of its ingredients out since she was holding it upside. She gave her mother a weak smile before she was embraced tightly.

"Yes Vathek," he confirmed himself after this scene played out, as if it held the future of the small redheaded girl, "I'm sure me and that girl will get along very well." The large man turned to his companion with a raised eyebrow, but the other man took no notice. He continued to look at Will and her mother.

"Destroying her will be a great pleasure," the large man's eyes relaxed as his partner said this and he turned to look at the girl again.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a new day in Heatherfield. The sun is shining, pushing the last grey clouds away. Everything is perfect. Well….almost.

Will Vandom rushed under the arc that read Sheffield Institute, a.k.a her new school. I'm late, I'm late, stupid alarm clock, cursed Will inside her head, I'm sure teacher's first words will be "Bad start Miss Vandom!" Will continued to curse to herself as she entered the school.

She stopped her cursing suddenly and instead thought, what now? as she saw multiple hallways and stairs leading every direction. This sure wasn't a small school.

"Great!" she yelled out in frustration to no one in particular, "How on earth am I supposed to find the right class room?!"

"Need some help," offered a small voice behind her. Will twirled around quickly and saw a girl, probably a bit shorter than Will with bluish black hair and a braid, standing there. She was wearing an orange jumper and black trousers. The girl had a small smile on her African-American face that bore glasses. It wasn't exactly an amused smile but a smile that said "I've been through the same thing, I know how you feel." Judging by the way she looked down and avoided eye contact with Will, she was a shy girl, yet Will felt a connection with her.

"I was as confused yesterday. My name is Taranee," she introduced herself in the same small voice. Will felt relieved that she wasn't the only newbie in this school, but she still felt shy about meeting new people.

"Um…hi! I'm Will," she muttered.

"And I'm Doe," introduced a deep yet calming and feminine voice. Will and Taranee jumped. They didn't see anyone here before. Yet a tall, thin girl with jet black hair that reached her shoulders and was tied into a ponytail stepped out of the shadows. Her eyes were a very dark brown, so dark that Will and Taranee thought they were black for a few seconds. She had those baby cheeks giving her that eternal baby look, yet something in her face was intimidating and calming at the same time. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a dragon in blue on the back matched with casual long jeans.

"Uh…hi… didn't see you there!" it was Taranee's turn to stutter.

"People usually don't," she paused then added, "You're in my class aren't you?" Taranee nodded shyly. Doe then turned to Will, "If your looking for 4A it's upstairs, to your left."

"Um thanks, but how did you"- began Will, but she was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Ladies!" yelled a woman with white hair and a blue suit who Will could only guess was one of the teachers, "Classes have already started!"

"She's the principal, Knicker Bocker," whispered Taranee to Will as she headed of to her class as the principal shouted, "To your classroom, Miss Cook." Will looked around frantically for Doe. Even though she had just met her, she got a feeling of security when she was there. She saw that Taranee was doing the same but Doe had disappeared. Then the principal turned to Will.

"And you?" she demanded.

"I'm Will Vandom and I think I'm lost," said Will lamely, giving a sheepish smile.

"Bad start Miss Vandom," she declared. I knew it, thought Will, as her sheepish smile disappeared.

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"Better now or never, eh?" was the greeting Taranee got from the history teacher Mr. Collins as she entered the classroom. "That's exactly what I told Miss Reed here," he said pointing to Doe who waved at her from her seat behind a brunette. "But what I didn't tell her was that there's a test today!" he announced, this time to the whole class.

"Test!?" cried the brunette, who until now, was oblivious to what was happening while chatting to the Asian girl next to her who somehow managed to talk to the brunette while watching what was happening. "Why didn't you mention it yesterday?!" she cried. She was wearing a reddish pinkish shirt with a jeans mini skirt. She had her hair up in small pigtails.

"You should already know that we history teachers tend to be a little evil sometimes," joked Mr. Collins while doing his best impression of an evil monster. This caused the Asian girl – whose long, black hair was in pigtails and goggles on her head – smile even wider than she was smiling before. She seemed to not be able stop smiling. Taranee sneaked a glance at Doe, who still wasn't smiling. She didn't smile when she introduced herself, she wasn't smiling when she waved at Taranee from her seat. The girl just doesn't smile, Taranee concluded.

"I thought that was just math teachers," joked the Asian. She was wearing a red jacket over what seemed to be a sleeveless pink shirt and dark blue shorts. She also had a pair of green legwarmers that clashed with her yellow goggles. Taranee thought she was beyond cool, because she obviously didn't care what others thought. Taranee could never do that.

"No, they are cruel. Totally different situation," sulked the brunette, who was resting her chin on her hands.

"What's the matter Irma? Spell not working anymore?" asked the Asian (who was still smiling). The brunette, now known as Irma, sent her a glare and whispered.

"What are you talking about, Hay Lin?" she whispered through gritted teeth. The Asian, Hay Lin, reached over and patted Irma's shoulder.

"About your little school spell, of course," she whispered back, grinning. This sparked curiosity in Taranee. She looked over at Doe (who was seated right next to her) to see if she heard what Hay Lin had said. Apparently she had, but her face was blank and impossible to read, while she watched the exchange.

So Taranee leaned over and asked, "What spell?" Hay Lin opened her mouth to answer, but Irma's hand quickly slapped over the girl's mouth.

"She didn't say anything," Irma told Taranee frantically while sending a dagger's glare at Hay Lin, "Just opening her mouth to keep herself warm!" If looks could kill, thought Taranee as she watched Irma glare at Hay Lin, her hand still keeping the small girl's mouth shut.

Suddenly, Irma yelled, "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" as she pulled her hand away from Hay Lin. Taranee looked over curiously. What had happened? Doe must have know 'cause her dark eyes sparkled with amusement when Taranee glanced over. Still no smile.

"What's going on over there?" demanded Mr. Collins, voicing the question Taranee had in mind.

"Professor Collins, Hay Lin bit me!" complained Irma while raising her hand in the air. Taranee had to suppress her laughter as she realized that Hay Lin actually had bit the poor girl. Plus, the complaint sounded so silly. Meanwhile Hay Lin was looking away innocently, but was trying hard to suppress her grin.

"Wonderful Irma! You are raising your hand! I was wondering who would like to answer the first question!" exclaimed Mr. Collins. Ha ha, thought Hay Lin, that'll teach her to keep her hand away from _my_ mouth.

"B-but….I didn't" stuttered Irma. Doe noticed Taranee was still curious from the spell so she narrated what was going to happen.

"Watch and at least _try_ to be amazed Taranee," Doe informed her. Taranee looked over, surprised that Doe had spoken. Hay Lin leaned backwards and continued for Doe.

"First, she get's mad then falls into desperation…" narrated Hay Lin.

Sure enough, Irma turned around and whispered frantically, "Be quiet! I haven't studied at all! Stone age is all I can tell something about!" Doe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because you're from there," she joked lightheartedly. She sure did have charisma, 'cause Irma tried to send her a glare but it turned into a weak smile.

"Then she closes her eyes, crosses her hands," Doe had taken over the narrating. You can only guess what Irma did, whispering again and again, "Please ask me something about the stone-age, please, please, please…"

"And if it actually is the only thing she knows something about, the teacher always asks her about it! I don't know how she does it…" Hay Lin trailed off.

Taranee's attention shifted to Mr. Collins who was searching through the history book.

"But it works every time," Doe finished for her.

"Hmm..let's see.." muttered Mr. Collins, "Irma, tell us something about the stone-age.

"BINGO" shout-whispered Hay Lin, one of her fists punching the air while the other slammed onto the table. Irma expression had turned into one of pure delight while Taranee's was one of shock. Doe just leaned back into her chair and folded her arms behind her head.

"Every time," she repeated as Irma launched into a speech about the stone-age.

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DRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG! The bell! thought Irma, it's sound will forever be freedom to me! The other students apparently thought the same as everyone rushed to get out of class. Once out, Doe separated from Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma.

"Bye!" called Taranee and Hay Lin to her retreating form. Doe twisted her head to see them and gave a small nod, before walking off again. Hay Lin and Irma frowned at her lack of speech before shrugging it off. Nothing could keep those two worrying for long.

"Ha! I can't believe it! You did it again!" exclaimed Hay Lin, a big smile on her face. There was always a big smile on her face. Irma, on the other hand, didn't look so happy.

"Hey, it's a secret! You can't tell everybody!" complained Irma. Taranee was barely registering this. Why was Doe always so distant? I'm going to go find her, decided Taranee, and while I'm at it, I'll find Will too.

"Cornelia!" exclaimed Hay Lin at the sight of the taller, blonder, older girl. She was wearing a purple sweater and long green skirt. Taranee marveled at how short she felt right now. She felt short when Doe was there too, but there was something about her… when you look at her, your eyes seem to pass over her and to the next person or thing, like she was just a shadow.

"She did the spell again," Hay Lin informed Cornelia, pointing at Irma. Taranee looked at Cornelia for her reaction. Nothing. Just a thoughtful look. Apparently, Taranee wasn't the only person lost in her thoughts.

Remote-control quizzes, thought Cornelia, she thinks she's a big shot, but she's just a beginner. If only what I can do…. She tuned back to her friends just in time to see Hay Lin saying bye to a shy-looking girl with bluish black hair.

"Who was that," she asked, looking at the girl's retreating form.

"Taranee," answered Hay Lin, "One of the new students. I think she's friends with Doe. They're both kind. Though Doe is kind of weird…" she trailed off. She couldn't quite put a finger on the girl's weirdness. Cornelia gave Hay Lin a strange look.

"Doe Reed?" she asked, "The weird one? Isn't she our friend as well?"

Irma entered the conversation, "No one's ever sure whether they're friends with that girl or not. But I think we're her friends….aren't we?" she asked, know as confused as Cornelia.

"We are. We just keep forgetting her. I don't know why…anyway, wasn't the other new girl in your class?" And just like that they forgot about her again. None of them would notice, as usual…but enough about Doe.

"Yeah, I think her name's Will," she spotted Elyon, another one of the group's friends. Her blond hair was tied into two loose braids that fell over her shoulders. Cornelia jerked her thumb over at the girl's direction, "Ask Elyon. She always has the news."

"Hi girls," Elyon greeted them. She seems depressed, thought Cornelia. The girl's dark purple jacket was zipped up and her light purple skirt fell to the ground. Funny, thought Cornelia, even her clothes seemed to be sad with her.

Cornelia wasn't the only one who noticed Elyon's depressed mood. "Look at me, Elyon," demanded Irma in a teasing way that only she was capable of, "I've seen this face before."

Cornelia decided to play along, "Me too. It was in a documentary about the Eastern Island!" Irma caught her drift and continued.

"Oh no, no, no, no, Cornelia," she said dramatically. She stepped behind Elyon and pointed to her face. "I recognize a 'flunked' look when I see one!" By now Hay Lin had caught their drift and was grinning widely.

"And I say that we have a big, fat, hairy 'F'!" declared Irma stepping out from behind Elyon and putting on her best mother disappointed look.

"Alright already! I got a bad grade in math! Satisfied?" confessed Elyon, looking anywhere but at Irma.

"Of course I am!" declared Irma, putting up her fists in a way that said "I am the boss", "Because you know what this means….?"

"PUUUUUUUUUNISHMENT!" exclaimed Hay Lin, imitating Irma with her fists. Cornelia grinned as the scene began to unfold. This was undoubtedly the duo's (Hay Lin and Irma, as the group named them sometimes) favorite part. The part when they pick the punishment.

"Aww, come on! You could look the other was just this once!" begged Elyon. Now that wasn't right, was it?

"The law's the law, Elyon! You know the rules of the group!" scolded Cornelia. They couldn't have any of that, could they?

"And for a really terrible grade we need something nasty…"said Irma as she trailed off, thinking of the best punishment for Elyon. But Cornelia already had one in mind.

"Hmmm, it's strange, though! I thought Matt-ematics was your favorite topic?" she suggested slyly. She watched as Elyon's face turned into pure panic.

"Leave Matt out of this," she cried. Hay Lin was absolutely loving this! Her grin spread across her face at the idea.

"Of course! Matt! He'll be your punishment! You'll have to ask him to study with you!" she declared, pointing at Elyon, who was shaking her head frantically.

"Begging and pleading!" added Irma, her grin as big as Hay Lin's. Speaking of Hay Lin's grin, it had turned into a playful frown.

"Let's get this straight Irma! Either she begs or she pleads!" she said pointing an accusing finger at Irma.

"She should beg! I said that first!" exclaimed Irma as if it was the greatest idea in the world. Hay Lin had a thoughtful look on her face for about…. a second, then asked, "What if we make her beg pleadingly?"

"That's silly!"

"But it's a compromise," Hay Lin reminded her. Cornelia laughed at the sight – and sound – of the duo and their hilarious argument.

"Good luck, Elyon!" she told her. She going to need it, Cornelia thought as she walked away.

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Doe was walking home. Everyone was passing by her without giving her a second glance…or a first one. Just how she liked it.

"Did you guys do this," she heard Will accuse. What's going on there, thought Doe. She walked to the source of the noise at the bike racks **(A/N is that what you call them?)** and saw Will kneeling next o a pile of bikes and Taranee standing next to her. Both girls were glaring at Uriah and his gang. Undoubtedly, they were the ones who did this. She decided to watch for a while from the shadows. It wasn't like anyone would spot her.

"Ha ha, could be!" exclaimed Kurt, one of the four losers who made the juvenile gang. They were all dressed in gangster clothes. If there trousers hung any looser, thought Doe, they would drop to the floor. With the exception of Nigel. One of the advantages of people not noticing you is that you get to know them without them knowing because… well, they don't notice you.

Doe knew almost everyone's character in the school. She also knew that Nigel wouldn't be part of Uriah's gang for much longer.

"Heh, looks like somebody's gonna be walking home today!' sneered Uriah. He's very annoying, thought Doe calmly.

Apparently, Will thought so too. She sent Uriah a glare (if looks could kill, thought Doe) and muttered, "Really funny," her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Isn't it?" agreed Uriah. Doe eyes shone with amusement. Of course, it made sense that the biggest lamebrain in history not to get sarcasm. "You're the new students right?" he asked. Taranee had her arms folded and held a dagger's glare through the whole argument. Time to step in, thought Doe. She stepped out the shadows.

"And you're the same old lamebrain Uriah," she declared, surprising the hell out of everybody there. They all turned to look at her as she stepped between the girls and the trash club, as she liked to call them. They don't even deserve capital letters.

"I suggest that you and your trash club move away from here," Doe declared in her calm voice. Uriah narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to her.

"Oh yeah?" he asked threateningly. He glared at her angrily while she just blinked back, bored.

"Yeah. Now, I am repeating for the hearing impaired, back off," she repeated calmly. Her voice held no anger and hatred yet her threat was strong. Uriah huffed and turned around.

"Let's move guys. Unnoticeable girl's here," he sneered walking. His clueless club followed him.

"Glad you're starting to use bigger words Uriah," she commented. Uriah eye's narrowed. Not that they would see. He would get that girl. Weird one, she was. Anyway, he needed to talk about a different subject, like the party.

"What a pleasure," spat Will as she and Taranee dragged their bikes out of the mess. Doe moved to help them.

"Don't worry, not every boy here is like that," Doe told her and that was that. Something in her tone made sure there was no denying what she said was true.

"Where were you?" Taranee suddenly blurted out. Doe glanced at her.

"Excuse me?" she asked. There was a threatening edge to her tone. Not even a thank you! Just a 'where were you'! She even sounded demanding! thought Doe. Taranee gulped. This was what she was thinking about earlier. You ask one bit about her and she get's…like that. Quiet or threatening. But she shouldn't jump to conclusions. She just met the girl today!

"I-I mean, a-after math c-class," stuttered Taranee. Will watched the exchange with wide eyes.

"You don't have to get scared from me," she said, "Are you going to the party?" Will and Taranee's reactions were identical.

"The party! I forgot all about it!" they exclaimed at the same. Doe's eyes were laughing. There faces were perfect copies of each other.

"You guys are going, right?" Doe asked expectantly. Will looked skeptical.

"Well…I don't know. I don't really feel like partying," confessed Will.

"You should go, it'll be fun. Plus, you'll make better memories. See ya," again there was no questioning her statement as she walked of. Will smiled at her retreating form. She had two friends now.

"Oh man!" exclaimed Taranee suddenly, "Did you see that?!" she said pointing at the place where Doe was, oh wait, she just vanished, "She changed the subject when I asked her where she was and we didn't notice! She tells us, and I know we just met but I can tell you know I don't like partying as much as you don't, to go to the party, and we just agree! Just like that!"

Will eyes, which were narrowed at the beginning, realized that Taranee was right. But this was only the second time she had talked to Doe.

"You're right Taranee, but don't you think you're jumping to conclusions a little to quickly? She probably just has that affect on people, even if it is weird," Taranee sighed then nodded.

"Yeah Will, you're probably right. Let's go!"

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Uriah and his gang were sulking on the steps of the school. They had just got shooed away by a girl. What was her name again? thought Uriah. He decided it didn't matter.

"Well, our fun ended quickly," complained Kurt.

"Wrong, our funs just about to start," he declared as he marched into the school. He opened his locked then looked around.

"Watch that nobody sees!" he ordered to Nigel. He then pulled out rockets.

"Rockets!" stated Kurt lamely as if he had to say it to believe it, "What for?" Nigel was listening while keeping watch. A toothy grin was plastered on Uriah's face.

"School will take care of tonight's party foods and music, but the fireworks will be taken care of by me!"

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"No Irma! You'll see this evening!" Hay Lin sat on the window ledge talking to Irma on the phone, in her messy room. And I mean messy. Pencils, papers, paint bottles, books, all kinds of stuff was spread out on Hay Lin's bedroom floor. But that was the way Hay Lin liked it, so it was going to stay that way. Hay Lin's home was over the loved, Chinese restaurant that her parents and grandma owned, the Silver Dragon.

"I designed my costume all by myself!" declared Hay Lin proudly. She loved designing clothes (most of her clothes were Hay Lin originals) and drawing and painting and sewing and… basically everything related to art.

Her grandma, Yan Lin, was passing down the hallway holding the restaurant table cloths and a few chopsticks resting on top of them. She could hear the conversation and was happy that her granddaughter was so enthusiastic.

"No it's going to be great," and optimistic too, Yan Lin had to add. In everything, through thick or thin, rough or smooth, Hay Lin always said that things would turn out right. Even when everybody was down she could still be upbeat and cheer things up. If she didn't….then it truly was a bad situation with no positive side.

"You'll see then! My costume is very different…and….very witchlike! Heh!" declared Hay Lin proudly. Yan Lin, on the other hand jumped in surprise in the hallway, causing a few chopsticks to clatter to the ground. Hay Lin heard the noise and poked her head out of her room.

"And my grandma will help me sew it!" she then lowered the phone from her ear and smiled at her grandma who was picking up the chopsticks, "Right?"

"Of course!" agreed Yan Lin smiling back at her granddaughter.

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On the other side of the phone, a certain someone wasn't that optimistic as the conversation ended and they hung up. Irma was in her bathtub having her daily bath. She loved water; it always soothed her nerves and allowed her to get lost in her thoughts.

I wonder what Hay Lin has come up with this time? wondered Irma, I can't wait. I, myself, have no idea what to wear, like always. I would like something a little darker, she wished as she stared down into the water. Something to show how I feel, she continued to muse. Hay Lin was right, she realized. Something weird is happening to me, she thought as she put her finger into the water and pulled it out again, causing a line of water to follow her finger and it twirled in the air. She was controlling the water's shapes with her mind!

Today, I could control my teacher's thoughts again, Irma thought, going back to her problems. Water was still suspended in the air, twisting and turning to the will of her mind. Maybe I should talk to the others, she thought, or not. Maybe I should tell them what I can do with water, she smiled at the water as it floated above her head.

Amazing, magical things, she exclaimed inside her head as she made even more water fly out of the bathtub.

"IRMA!" yelled Irma's dad, Tom Lair. And boy was he angry! His yell broke Irma's concentration and the water splashed down on the ground and bathtub.

"Are you still going to be there for a long time?! You have been there for an hour already!" yelled Tom. And he wasn't exaggerating at all.

"Wait!" she told him desperately. Quickly now, fade! She begged the water with her mind. Her dad can't see this.

"Irma? This is my last warning!" yelled her dad and she could see the door inching open.

"I'm almost ready!" she called out to him as she quickly batted away the small cloud that had formed over her head and started raining down on her, flooding the bathroom again.

"IRMA!"

"Coming!"

And Irma walked out the door wrapped in a towel, her usual calm smirk on her face. Her dad turned to look at her in disbelief and failed to see the water pouring out of the bathroom.

"You almost made me break the door down," he told her, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Why would you do that?" Irma asked with mock innocence, "Hour in the bathtub isn't a crime," she smirked at him. Tom Lair was a policeman…..no he was a detective. After all these year's, Irma concluded that he was a mixture of both.

"A normal person would like a raisin by now," he commented, gesturing at her fingers, which were as smooth as a baby's butt.

"But no, our lady can spend an hour in bathtub like nothing happened," he rolled his eyes. He turned to the bathroom and Irma quickly inched to her bedroom while answering, "I have the rights for it!"

"IRMA! THE BATHROOM FLOOR IS FLOODING!" Irma was halfway through the doorway and answered smartly, "I speak only when my lawyer is here!" and shut the door.

"Uh! It's not always easy to be 13," she turned on the lights and rested her head on the table, watching her pet turtle, Leafy.

"I wish I would have a shell too…same clothes through my whole life!" she wished, but that wasn't going to happen, and she knew it. She walked over to her closet and searched through her clothes.

"But I have to choose! Why is this so hard every time?" she asked no one. She gave up on her search and sat on her bed, defeated.

"I just want a beautiful, blue dress. Is that too much to ask for?" Suddenly, a small blue spark appeared in right in front of Irma's face.

"Huh?" she wondered as it zoomed over to her closet and produced a blue dress out of nowhere. It also changed the colors of her other clothes.

"Eep!" she yelped, jumped up, and shut her closet, not believing what she had just seen.

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Meanwhile, Will was staying at Taranee house until the rain lessened. Speaking of the rain….

"The rain has stopped. I have to go," declared Will as she looked out the window.

"How are you going to dress? Beautiful or ugly?" she meant it as a joke, but Will's cheeks flushed red and she answered, "Ugly. I am always," Will answered then added, "I would love to try something else…."

"Hahahaha," laughed Taranee, Will _did _get the joke. Taranee made a mental note to not jump to conclusions to fast. Just like she did with Doe….

"I'll pick you up at 18:30 pm," Will told her as she got on her bike.

"With that?" asked Taranee, pointing to Will's bike.

"With a car; mom'll drive us to school," corrected Will as she rode away.

"See you," called Taranee after her retreating form.

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Will rode her bike home a bit faster than usual, hoping she wasn't late. The birds were singing and children were laughing with there friends in the park, but Will paid no attention, she was lost in her thoughts…..

I spoke before I thought, Will scolded herself, maybe a cool costume was a bad idea. I'm more comfortable in P.E clothes, she smiled to herself at this, maybe they have party jogging suits? A night jogging suit would solve the problem…

She passed a shop window, and saw herself on her bike but… what was that on her back…were those… _wings?_

"What?!" she quickly stopped her bike to take a better look. Yes, there she was, wearing different clothes, looking older, and there were _wings_ on her back! I-I most be seeing things, she concluded and rode away.

"Is that her," asked a large man who was in the shop that Will had stopped to look at her 'reflection' at. Was his hand _blue_?!

"Yes," answered a man with long blond hair, "Put on your best clothes," he told his partner, "We're going to a party tonight!"

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In Cornelia's apartment…

"Forget the whole thing, young lady! You aren't going anywhere tonight!" ordered Cornelia's mom. She and Cornelia were standing outside Cornelia's room.

"Not before you have cleaned your room!" she ordered, pointy to Cornelia's _messy_ room. Though it was nothing compared to Hay Lin's room, it was quite messy.

"Mom, I'll do it tomorrow!" promised Cornelia. She _really_ wanted to go to the party, and there was no way that she would clean up her room in time.

"What stops you from doing it know?" asked Cornelia mom.

"My habit to not obey threatening!" lied Cornelia. Well it wasn't a _complete _lie; she _didn't _obey threatening.

"Do what you want Cornelia. You're the one losing here," her mother's angry tone had vanished and was replaced with a calm one as she walked down the stairs. Her little sister, Lillian, who had been watching the whole scene, said slyly, "How nice! Tonight will be a family evening!"

"Be quiet, you little frog," Cornelia shouted to her sister's face before storming to her room.

"Kroak!" escaped Lillian mouth and she quickly put a hand over her mouth before blushing. She _hadn't _planned that.

Ugh, why can't my room cleaned itself, wished Cornelia as she stomped into her room, but before she could get inside, the door slammed in her face!

"What?" asked Cornelia. She tried to open the door, but it was locked!

"Stupid door!" she yelled as the door finally opened, "What's going on here?" she stomped into her room that was supposed to be messy. Instead everything was cleaned up and in its place!

"Ooh!" she breathed. Wow, did I do this, she thought, smiling to herself. Irma's spells are nothing compared to mine! she realized as she inspected her work. In school I can do things with my strength of will, she confessed, and now…this!

I wonder what else I can do, she wondered while putting on her costume then rushing downstairs with a big smile on her face.

"Cornelia! Where are you going?" demanded her mother, looking up from her place on the couch.

"What does this look like? To the party. I cleaned already," she answered her, rushing out the door.

"Cornelia! I hope you're telling the truth! Otherwise"-

"Bye dad!" Cornelia called to her dad who was just entering their house.

"Bye? Did I miss something?"

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Doe was walking to the party from her home. The house she lived in wasn't spectacular, just a normal house with a back garden. A bit like Irma's, but smaller. In fact, it was right next to Irma's. Her costume was a simple, long black dress she had made herself. She had a dark blue cloth wrapped around her shoulders that made her look like a fancy witch. Her hair, which was usually tied into a ponytail, was let down, revealing that her hair was wavy. It shadowed her face which added to the witch look. She couldn't affor- make a pointy hat so that had to do.

When she reached the party (just in time too, it was 21:00 pm), she slipped into the shadows as not to get spotted.

"Lovely party," commented Mrs. Knicker Bocker as she walked around, looking at her students costumes.

"Nice costume Hay Lin," and she was right. Hay Lin had a traditional Chinese purple robe on, but she had cut it short so that it was higher than her knees, and reddish purple leggings with black boots. She had purple goggles over her hair, which was in its usual ponytails.

"Thank you! Yours isn't too bad either!" smiled Hay Lin.

"Who designed your clothes, aliens," joked Irma who was standing next to her. She had the blue dress she wished for. She was still getting over the shock of it magically appearing in her closet, even if she wasn't showing it.

Mrs. Knicker Bocker continued her inspection, and she spotted Uriah and his gang eating all the food. Well, most of his gang. Nigel wasn't there.

"Hey, leave some for the others too!" ordered the principal.

"We're just collecting for the winter, principal," answered Uriah, giving a fake smile. He was wearing a devil costume. Oh, the irony, thought Doe who was watching from the shadows since Mrs. Knicker Bocker commented on Hay Lin's dress.

"Ah, so you're spending this year in sleep too? Great!" she laughed. This wiped the smile of Uriah's greasy face. Witch! he thought, you won't be laughing at midnight. He's planning something, concluded Doe, but then she turned to watch a different scene from her place in the shadows.

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It was 22:30 and Will still wasn't ready…

"Will! Hurry! We have to pick up your friend," called Susan who was standing outside Will's room, looking at her watch.

"So what?" yelled Will. She was holding a red dress and was looking flustered, "I don't even want to go! You forced me! I don't even have anything to wear!" she complained, holding the red dress to her body, "I look like a broomstick and…" her voice trailed off as she looked into the mirror. She didn't look like a broomstick anymore!

That…that's not me! thought Will as she reached out to touch the mirror.

"Will?" asked her mother, walking into the room.

"Ah! Don't come in!" yelled Will, throwing the red dress over 'her' not-so-broomstick body. If her mother saw her like this…

She looked back into the mirror and saw that she was a broomstick again. Her mother had her hands on her hips and was as confused as Will.

"Why aren't you dressed yet," asked Susan, folding her arms, "I thought you were going to wear the black dress?" she looked over at it wear it was lying on the floor.

"The only black thing that'll suit me is a garbage bag!" she said, looking anywhere but at her mother.

"Why are you saying that? What wrong?" she asked gently.

"I look horrible," cried Will, tears coming to her eyes. Her mother leaned down next to her and turned her to face the mirror.

"I only see a young rose, who is about to blossom. Look at yourself Will! You are beautiful!" praised her mother. Will looked at her reflection. Maybe… just maybe her mother was right…

"Let's get going before the party ends."

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"Have fun! Take good care of Will, Taranee!" called Susan to the girls as she dropped them off.

"Bye!" said Will, trying to get away before her mother said something even more embarrassing. That wasn't going to happen.

"Will is shy. Try to get her out of her shell for me," she told Taranee, winking at both girls. Will rolled her eyes. So much for making friends. Now Taranee would laugh at her. She embraced herself for the teasing, but instead she saw Taranee giving Susan a small smile and saying, "I don't know if I can, but I'll try!"

Will smiled at that. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

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"It's not too late Taranee," Will told her friend as they entered the party, "Let's get out of here!"

"I don't think we can anymore," answered Taranee looking straight ahead. Will looked forward to see…

"Cornelia!" greeted Taranee in a small voice. They met the girl while biking home after their encounter with Doe and the 'trash club' as Doe called them.

"Two hour's late, like rock stars!" smiled Cornelia. She had a witch's pointy, black hat in her hand and put it on Will's head while Will was giving her excuse.

"It's all my fault. It started raining, and..." she was interrupting by a girl she learned was called Elyon.

"You could teach us better excuses Irma," she joked to a fed up Irma who was being pushed by Hay Lin to the center of the group.

"She came late too, and guess why?" smiled Hay Lin, obviously teasing Irma about something.

"Haha very funny," said Irma, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "All my clothes changed colors and forms." Hay Lin and Elyon started laughing hysterically.

"I believe you," said Will firmly. After what happened to her, she found she could believe anything.

"Me too," came a voice from the shadows. They all jumped and turned to look as Doe stepped out of the shadows.

"Why do you keep doing that!" moaned Irma, "You always jump out of the blue and join our conversations!" Doe grinned – no, her eyes shone with amusement but her mouth didn't move.

"And that too," added Taranee, gesturing to Doe's face, "You never smile, but I keep thinking you do but your mouth doesn't move!"

"I can leave if you want me too," offered Doe as she took a step back into the shadows.

"No! It's okay, they were just kidding," said Will, jumping forward and grabbing Doe's arm, pulling her back to the group, before letting go again when she was sure she wouldn't leave.

"Nice dress, by the way," commented Hay Lin, and Elyon nodded, agreeing with her small friend.

"What do you think, Cornelia?" asked Elyon. Cornelia, who had been silent since the moment Doe arrived, shrugged.

"I think I'm going to leave now," Doe said, "Nice dress, Cornelia," and before Will could do anything about, she vanished into the shadows again.

"Why'd she leave?" asked Hay Lin innocently. Cornelia knew why, and she thought about the reason as she kept looking at the place Doe disappeared. She left because she thought I had a problem with her, thought Cornelia, but I don't…I-I don't know why I acted that way.

"A photo, ladies?" asked Martin in an English accent with his camera in hand. They all agreed.

While posing, Irma grunted "I'm not telling you guys anything anymore!" looking at Hay Lin and Elyon.

"Sure! Smile girls!" she said, knowing Irma wasn't serious, and sure enough, Irma's frown turned into a grin. Just as Martin was about to take the picture, Cornelia spotted a figure behind him.

"Wait!" she said and Martin took his hand away from the camera. They all watched her curiously as she ran behind Martin, grabbed Doe by her arm (everyone was shocked here, not just because they didn't notice her, but because of Cornelia's goofy grin as she did so), and dragged the tall girl over to the group.

"Now, we can't have a group picture without the whole group, can we?" she said as she put Doe between Taranee and herself. She swung her arm over Doe's shoulder, and after hesitating, Doe did the same.

"Now, smile girls!" repeated Hay Lin, smiling even wider than she was before because of the display of friendship.

SNAP!

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"Here they are, Tibor! The new guardians!" the Oracle announced proudly as he held the picture of the seven girls. Will's hand was on Irma head, Irma arms were folded across her chest with the goofiest grin she could muster on her face next to Hay Lin, Hay Lin's hands were spread open, her face cheek to cheek with Elyon's, Elyon had the biggest smile on her face, behind her, Taranee was waving at the camera and Cornelia and Doe's arms were slung over each other's shoulders. Cornelia had a big grin on her face. Doe on the other hand, had the tiniest grin on her face, as if it was the first time she had smiled. Her eyes were sparkling with a smile that covered up for her small grin.

"Together already," sighed the Oracle happily. Tibor looked closer at the photo then gasped.

"But those two…they are…they are.." he stuttered, not able to finish his sentence from the shock.

"No, they are only copies of them, Tibor. They are not them," he corrected.

"Do they all know that they are the guardians?" asked Tibor, still looking at the two girls he had pointed out

"They all do not know that they are guardians, but they will soon. Then these six girls will be together!" he announced, still looking at the photo.

"Six?" asked Tibor, looking at the Oracle as if he had sprouted an extra head…though that wouldn't be too weird, "There are seven girls."

"One of them will betray her friends," he answered simply. He let go of the picture and it floated in front of him before vanishing.

"All that time together includes a betrayal."

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"Only half hour until midnight! Whoooo!" announced the lead singer of the band that was on stage, Cobalt Blue, before continuing with the next song. Hay Lin noticed Will smiling up at him dreamily.

"What do you think?" she asked Will even though she knew what she thought, "He's Matt."

"I thought every ninth grader was like Uriah and his gang," answered Will. At least it was part of the truth, thought Hay Lin. She always noticed a crush when she saw one. She got a lot of practice, thanks to her boy-crazy friends. Hay Lin, on the other hand, was not famous for her boy-craziness. Doe seemed the same.

"What do you think of him?" asked Elyon, pointing to a teen with long, blond hair. His face was paint white with a line of red across the place his eyes were. He was wearing a purple coat.

"Haven't seen him before! He's gorgeous!" answered Hay Lin, putting her goggles over her eyes.

"His face is painted," Cornelia pointed out, joining the conversation while pulling Doe along with her. Will and Taranee were listening.

"I still think he looks great," argued Hay Lin.

"You think everyone looks great, Hay Lin," smirked Irma. Hay Lin turned to look at her, taking of her goggles again.

"I don't," she argued, then pointed to someone behind Irma, "Like that one approaching you is almost ugly."

"Another photo, baby? Just you and me," asked Martin, holding his camera while flirting with Irma. Rather badly, actually. Irma turned to him.

"Disappear Martin," she said firmly then turned around. Unknown to her and Martin, Martin actually did disappear! He walked off muttering about another failed attempt.

"You know what?" Cornelia began, "The new guy could be good for Elyon's punishment!" Irma smiled evilly and Cornelia looked proud with her work. Doe just rolled her eyes.

"I bet he gives good math lessons," Elyon said dreamily before walking towards him.

"She is approaching us, master!" informed a big, blue thing to the 'teen' Elyon was so interested in. He looked back at Elyon who was coming closer to them.

"I will take care of her. You find the redhead. You know what to do," ordered the blond one Elyon had fallen for. From his voice, you could definitely tell that he wasn't a teen, but a man.

"I do, master! In here, nobody will even notice me!" and he was right. Since it was a costume party, everyone would think what he was 'wearing' was a costume, when actually, he really is a big, blue, monster thing!

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Cobalt Blue was still playing on stage so Will was still staring dreamily at Matt. Taranee laughed at this then turned to watch Elyon approach the new guy.

"Do you think she'll succeed?" asked Cornelia. She was watching Elyon as well.

"Hmm, she looked pretty determined," answered Taranee. And she was right. Elyon's face was set in stone when she was approaching him.

"What do you think Will?" asked Taranee, laughing inwardly at Will's face as she zoned back in from her 'watching Matt' zone.

"I…I…" unknown to the girls, the big blue thing swiped his arms at Will's back, but a boy holding snacks stepped in the way, oblivious to what was happening.

"Move! Make way for food!" he was yelling. I almost got her, thought the big blue thing to himself (if you're smart, you'll remember his name is Vathek, as the blond one mentioned when they were spying on Will).

"I bet she does. Yep," Will finally answered, then zoned back out, but this time she wasn't watching Matt, she looked troubled. Cornelia noticed.

"Is everything ok?" asked Cornelia.

"I think so… did you here that," asked Will.

"Music is too loud," answered Taranee. And it certainly was, the speakers were blasting Cobalt Blue's music at their highest volume, "Come on!' she said, and led the way to the snack and drinks table. Hay Lin and Irma were at the front of the crowd watching the show and dancing to the music. Doe had disappeared again.

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"Um…hi!" greeted Elyon once she reached the boy. The boy turned to look at her.

"Hi Elyon," he said in a calm voice. Elyon eyes widened in shock.

"You…you know my name? Who…who are you?" stuttered Elyon. This was really freaking her out.

"My name is Cedric. I know a lot about you."

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"Uuh," moaned Will clutching her head. The cup she was holding slipped out of her hand. Doe appeared out of nowhere (loves to do that, doesn't she?) and grabbed the cup before it spilled on the ground and all over Will's boots.

"Will! Are you alright?" asked Taranee concerned. Cornelia and Doe crowded around her. Cornelia glanced at Doe and made a mental-note to talk to her later before turning back to Will.

"I feel a little dizzy," confessed Will, "I need fresh air."

"We'll come with you!" offered Cornelia quickly. Doe nodded in a silent agreement. Even if her face didn't show that she was concerned, her eyes were blazing with it.

Where are they going, thought Vathek as the girls made their way outside. They can't get away! He quickly moved to follow them when another kid got in his way, this time on purpose.

"Hey, nice costume!" he praised but was knocked out the way ungratefully.

"Out of the way, pathetic creature!" spat Vathek and continued his chase. Humans! thought Vathek, they wouldn't be so kind is they knew this is my real face! Perhaps he was right, perhaps he wasn't. Everyone is different, thus reacts differently.

"Ouch!" yelled a voice out of nowhere as Vathek bumped into…well nothing he could see, "Where are you going?" the voice asked, flustered.

"Who…who said that?" demanded Vathek, searching for the source.

"Me!" declared Martin as he appeared out of thin air right in front of the monster!

"My Lord! Invisible man!" he said, shocked, while he put his big finger on Martin's head as if he had to touch him to actually believe he was real.

"Yes, I know nobody notices me in school, but it's rude to say it straight to my face!" said Martin, frowning. Then he smiled and raised his camera.

"Nice costume, though! Let me take a photo!"

SNAP!

"Aargh!" yelled Vathek, shielding his eyes with his hands.

"My eyes! I hate the light!" he yelled. Martin paid no attention and just blew on the photo.

"AAAAAARGH!" Vathek had tripped over the snack table during his brief 'blindness' turning the whole table over with him. The people backed away, flustered that their food was gone.

"Excuse me?!" some said angrily but Vathek's attention was on Martin who was looking at the picture he had just taken.

"Hmmm, didn't turn out so good," he said thoughtfully, unaware of Vathek approaching him angrily.

"You will pay, microbe," he said through gritted teeth.

"Attention!" called Mrs. Knicker Bocker from the stage, "Only three more minutes until midnight! Soon, it'll be time to light the big pumpkin! But before that, let's pick the costume winner!"

"I could turn you into a wart," growled Vathek, grabbing the back of the collar on Martin costume, "But I think nobody would notice the difference!"

"We have decided!" continued Mrs. Knicker Bocker, as oblivious as everyone else at Vathek rage, "Here…" she announced as the spotlight turned to Vathek and Martin, "is the winner!"

"Oooh me?" asked Martin hopefully.

"I'm afraid not!"

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"What's going on?" asked Taranee as all the students ran out of the gym, cheering.

"It's midnight," answered Hay Lin, who had joined the group outside with Irma, "They have chosen the best costume and are going to light the pumpkin!"

"Let me go," demanded Vathek, "You are making a big mistake! You will regret this!" the threats kept coming, but the students took no notice all chanting, "Halloween! Halloween!" again and again as they pushed him towards the pumpkin.

"Now, now, be nice my boy!" ordered the principal, grabbing Vathek by the ear, "Before we see who is behind that mask, you can light the big pumpkin!"

"NOBODY TREATS VATHEK LIKE THIS! You went too far!" he roared, snatching his ear and the torch away from the principal. The torch tumbled out of his hand (as he had no intention of keeping it) and fell on the pumpkin.

"I bet you're Samson from 9B! I recognize you boy and I don't like your attitude!" lectured Mrs. Knicker Bocker.

"Um… I'm Samson, principal!" said a Frankenstein from the crowd.

"What? Then who is that?" she asked. Before the beast had time to answer, midnight came! The pumpkin exploded and shot out the fireworks that were hidden by Uriah and his gang.

"Help! Look out!" came the cries from the students who were running away from the exploding pumpkin.

"HAHAHA! Run idiots!" laughed Uriah from his place on the balcony of the building with the rest of his gang. Nigel looked very troubled. He hadn't been sure about this plan.

"The fire is spreading, Uriah!" he warned frantically, but Uriah paid no attention.

The girl, thought Vathek as he came up from behind Will, my opportunity has come! I cannot fail! Suddenly a rocket shot at Vathek's rear.

"Ahhh!" he cried out in pain, grabbing his behind.

"Get down Irma!" warned Taranee as a rocket shot towards her. In pure instinct, Taranee threw out her hand at the rocket.

"Stop!" she ordered. To her and Irma's great surprise, the rocket screeched to a stop. Taranee hand's made the rocket change its course and it shot straight to the big pumpkin. It collided with it and burst it into flames. Will, who was still near to the pumpkin, became surrounded by the flames.

"Will!" cried Taranee. She was frozen in pure panic. Doe's eyes narrowed and jumped into the flames after Will, not caring about the consequences.

"Doe!" cried Cornelia.

"What's she doing?" asked Hay Lin, flustered.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the circle of flames, Will saw Doe appear.

"Doe!" she breathed. She noticed that the weird girl was surrounded by some kind of darkness. Outside of the flames, it wouldn't look out of place, because it was night and no strong light was shining. But here, with the fire behind her, it was clear.

Doe grabbed Will's wrist and pulled her to her feet fast and firm, yet gently.

"Stay close to me," she ordered in her usual calm voice. How can she be so calm in this situation? thought Will. She didn't even have time to nod before Doe jumped back out of the flames. Will didn't scream as they went through the flames. Something inside of her told her that Doe wouldn't let them be burnt, and all fear vanished from her body.

Once through the flames, she saw her other friends and she and Doe ran over to them. Will felt the calmness leave her as Doe let go of her wrist but paid no attention. The fire was inching closer.

Taranee seemed to gather her bearings and thrust her hands forwards, yelling "Stay back!" Directly, the flames obeyed her and flew back to the pumpkin. Mr. Collins arrived with a fire extinguisher and the girls backed away as he put it out.

"How did you guys do that?" asked Will looking at Doe and Taranee. Hay Lin, Irma, and Cornelia looked at them as well, curious for the answer.

"I don't know," answered Taranee. They looked at Doe waiting for her answer. Doe was staring at the flames with wide eyes before turning to meet Will's eyes.

"We really don't know," she answered and Taranee nodded her head in agreement. Will wrapped her two saviors in a hug. She felt Taranee hug back and Doe tense then return it, still tense. The others joined in the group hug.

Everyone else would think it was the wind that blew the flames away, and that Will was just lucky that Doe was in the right place at the right time. But the girls knew it was something else. Deep down, they knew it was magic.

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On the roof, above where this was all happening, Vathek and Cedric sat, watching the scene unfold.

"The party is over, Lord Cedric," said Vathek, breaking the silence.

"Wrong, Vathek! The party hasn't even begun," he answered, "Tomorrow, we'll show them!"

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_Hay Lin and Irma were flying over and in the clouds, or rather Hay Lin was flying while holding Irma. They were running from something. Here and there were weird columns, with even weirder symbols engraved on them._

"It was unbelievable! Everything felt so real. It's hard to explain…"

_They landed on the clouds and clung on to each other in fear as the clouds parted in front of them and creatures emerged, but they were only shadows in the parting clouds…_

"The place…the creatures, the sounds…even the scent! It felt like we were actually there!"

_The clouds revealed a pendant, surrounded by six symbols (the same ones engraved on the column) Each shined a different color._

"It was scary, and then a pattern came to the sky and some necklace in the middle," continued Irma. The group was sitting outside the school (school was over) while Irma was telling them about her dream.

"What happened then?" asked Will, absorbed by the story. Irma shrugged.

"Alarm clock rang," she said simply. Will sat to her right and while Hay Lin, Doe and Taranee (in that order) sat to her left. Hay Lin was drawing something on her hand and Doe was looking at it. Occasionally, she would point at something on the small girl's hand and Hay Lin rubbed it off and continued. Cornelia and Elyon leaned against the nearby tree.

"Did the necklace look something like this?" asked Hay Lin, showing them her hand. Or rather, the drawing on her hand. It was an exact copy of the pendant.

"How on Earth…yes!" exclaimed Irma grabbing Hay Lin's hand. Will came closer to take a better look.

"I've had a dream of that too," cried Will. Irma turned to look at her.

"You too, Will?" asked Irma. Will nodded.

"Irma and I haven't talked about it. How did you know what it looked like?" she asked.

"Simple," she said looking over at Doe.

"It was in our dreams too," finished Doe, pointing at herself and Hay Lin. Even in this serious situation, her eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"Enough! Stop!" cried Taranee suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her.

"I'm scared! What does this all mean!? What's happening to us?" she asked. By the end of her sentence, she was whispering in a frightened tone. Will looked at her friend's frightened face then at everyone else.

Doe's amusement had been replaced by a determined blaze in her eyes. Hay Lin was thinking about what Taranee had just said, her head up in the clouds. Irma looked shocked at Taranee's sudden outburst. Elyon was looking at Cornelia in some kind of best friend silent language. Will Taranee and I have that, thought Will, then she scolded herself. Now was not the time to think about those stuff.

But it was Cornelia who spoke, "Let's think. Everybody has some kind of weird experience," she said, trying to keep herself and everybody else down to earth and in control. That's going to be hard, thought Will, looking at Hay Lin who still had her head in the clouds. "Little things with no explanations that surely aren't our imagination!" she continued.

"What are you saying, Sherlock," asked Irma. Everyone had turned to look at Cornelia, even Hay Lin, who had landed back on earth some time ago.

"Nothing! We have to talk about this somewhere else, but not here, and not now," she explained. And she was right. More and more students were crowding around and their chance at being overheard was big. Hay Lin realized this as well.

"Cornelia is right. How about my house, this evening," offered Hay Lin.

"I'm coming," announced Will.

"Me too," said Irma with a smile.

"Deal," said Doe simply. Cornelia just smiled and nodded.

"I can't come," announced Elyon sadly. She looked sad that she had to turn down the offer, but excited at where she was going instead.

"Do you have something more important, Elyon?" asked Irma, speaking the question they all were thinking. Even Doe, even though she didn't seem interested, was listening.

"I have a date with Cedric! Remember that boy from the party?" announced Elyon, excited.

"You're kidding! He's going to help you with your math homework?" Cornelia asked in disbelief, yet she was smiling for her friend.

"I didn't like him," said Doe simply. The other girls shot her glares for not supporting Elyon. Doe just shrugged back.

"Cedric is very nice!" insisted Elyon, still smiling, "He invited me to his bookstore. He wants to talk to me!" Irma's smile faded at this and was replaced with a frown.

"A talk in a bookstore? Even the thought of it makes me yawn!" joked Irma.

"You're jealous," accused Elyon, a smug grin on her face.

"So what?" confessed Irma, "It still sounds boring!" everyone laughed at this (you should understand by now when I write everyone laughed, it means everyone apart from Doe laughed, her eyes just sparkled with laughter/amusement).

"Hahaha! You can go on your date, Elyon!" insisted Cornelia, "We won't hold you any longer."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The clock is exactly 16:00. Be brave! Take a deep breath! Elyon was giving herself a pep rally in her head. She was standing outside the 'Ye Old Bookshop' where her date was waiting inside.

"Um…knock knock! Anybody here?" asked Elyon as she opened the door and the bell jingled.

"I'm here Elyon," came Cedric's voice. She stepped inside and saw him, his blond hair tied into a ponytail and glasses on his nose, with a book opened in his hand.

"I've been waiting for you."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the Silver Dragon, Hay Lin was pouring soup into everyone bowl's as they sat around the kitchen table. There were cookies in the middle that everyone enjoyed. Especially Irma, who could have happily finished the whole plate by herself.

"What do you think this means?" asked Cornelia, frustrated. She was referring to the magical problem they had on their hands.

"Not everything has to have an explanation," Hay Lin tried to reason with Cornelia, but she would have none of it.

"Everything has a reason, and I want to know what is happening to us!" demanded Cornelia. Then she added, "And you should all know I don't believe in magic!" Doe and Will glanced at each other at this. They both thought that was the reason, but Cornelia would never believe in the 'M word'.

"Mystical dreams, clothes that change color, controlling fire… _fire invincibility_," she added after a small pause, glancing at Doe who was casually leaning back on her chair. Taranee had the hardest time believing that anyone couldn't be burnt by fire, "What do you call it then?" Taranee believed it was magic as well, along with Hay Lin. Irma hadn't voiced her opinion on what she believed it was, only on how delicious the cookies were.

"Teenage," joked Irma after gulping down her cookie. Cornelia glared at her.

"Maybe the sign in our dreams is the answer?" suggested Will. She looked around the table for anyone who agreed. Doe nodded her head, while Taranee shrugged. Cornelia was still glaring at Irma (who was still eating)

Unknown to them, Yan Lin was listening to their conversation.

"Look! I drew it a little better," said the modest Hay Lin as she showed them the drawing, "I hope I didn't forget anything."

"I think it's perfect," declared Irma as she looked at the drawing.

"It does look like it," confirmed Will. Yan Lin stepped out of her hiding place.

"Would this look more like it?" she asked. In her hand, dangling from a string was the actual pendant they had been dreaming of.

"Grandma!" cried Hay Lin in surprise. Did her grandma know what was going on?

"That's it! Where did you get it,' asked Will. All of their faces showed shock and curiosity. Even Doe, who always kept that blank look on her face, leaned forward in her seat, her eyes narrowed. By now Irma had stopped eating and was watching with wide eyes.

"Keep this as you secret. This is the Heart of Kandracar," she answered the girls. This got them even more confused.

"Heart of what now?" asked Doe, speaking up for the first time since she got there. Yan Lin eyed her curiously before continuing.

"And you are the new guardians," she informed, ignoring Doe's question. The girls were as confused as before, if not even more.

"What are we supposed to guard?" asked Hay Lin. Yan Lin smiled.

"Let me tell you girls a story. An old story. A long time ago, when Earth was still young, and creatures lived under the same sky, the universe was one big kingdom. Then spirits and creatures started to feel hate, and the world was split to those who wanted peace, and to those who lived on other's sufferings. Both were separated with a veil. Evil was evicted into a dark place called Metaworld. Before the universe was split in half forever, Kandracar's castle was created. It is in the middle of infinity. It is guarded by the most powerful creatures and spirits. And there lives the veil's guardians. You can go there if you want," she informed the girls, who were all standing up. Doe was the only one still in her chair, though she was as curious as everyone else.

"You are here for a reason. You are the new guardians of the veil, the most important creatures in the fight that started thousands of years ago."

"What is the veil," asked Irma. Yan Lin had mentioned that 'veil' twice already. She wanted to know what it was.

"Next to reality is another reality. Veil is the wall that separates them from each other," she answered, "But the veil has turned more fragile. The other reality is coming through and it is dangerous," she warned.

"I-I don't think I understand," admitted Will shyly.

"You will understand everything later. Now, I just ask you to learn and accept your duty," she told them. Taranee looked at her friends to see if they were as frightened as she was. Will's face was confused, yet somehow determined. Irma was looking on with wide eyes. Cornelia eyes were narrowed and she seemed more offended then anything else that her theory that there was no such thing as magic wasn't true. Hay Lin was looking at her grandmother curiously. Doe had her eyes narrowed in determination, like Will, but unlike Will she seemed to understand just slightly more. After all, who could completely understand something as complicated as what Yan Lin had just told them?

"You have nothing to be afraid," assured Yan Lin, noticing Taranee's frightened face, "Nature is with you, and its power's now belong to you!" the Heart started glowing.

"Irma, you are water!" she announced as a blue symbol that looked like a wave crest, appeared. Irma stared at in awe.

"Cornelia, earth belongs to you," a green circle with a dot in the center shone. Cornelia just glared at it.

"And to you, Taranee, fire!" a triangle with a corner opened appeared. This made Taranee gasp and become even more frightened.

"For you Domunatrum, darkness will shine!" a symbol that looked like water's, except flipped over so if you put a line in it, it would be a very fancy D, shone black. At first, Doe's eyes narrowed at the use of her full name, and then the blank look returned, but her eyes sparkling with new power.

"And you, little Hay Lin, you are air," a silver swirl appeared in front of the small girl. Hay Lin smiled at the use of her nickname, and looked very excited at having the power of air.

"What about me?" asked Will when she noticed that Yan Lin wasn't continuing.

"Give me your hand, Will" ordered Yan Lin gently, stretching out her hand. Will did what she was told, and Yan Lin placed the pendant in it while saying, "Soon, you will understand."

"Ooh!" cried Will as she felt a wonderful feeling shoot through her when the pendant touched her, as if she had reunited with a part of her that had been lost. A pink, swirly equal sign appeared.

The others' faces were still the same. Hay Lin was still excited. Irma was still as shocked, Taranee still as frightened. Cornelia's glare, on the other hand, had turned into one that mirrored Irma's. She was still angry, but now more shocked than angry. Doe, who had been seated 'till now, jumped to her feat when Will had cried out, thinking she was hurt. But when she saw a smile appear on her friend's face, she sat back down with her usual expression.

"This…this is magic!" stuttered Irma. They all new it was true. Even Cornelia, who didn't want to believe it, new it was true.

"See you later!" said Yan Lin, her misty, mysterious voice gone and replaced by a cheerful one, as if she had stopped by just to give them more cookies.

"Wait! Don't go, tell us more!" said Will as she and the others ran into the hallway. Doe just walked behind them, apparently in no hurry.

"She's gone!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"There they are Oracle, finally together," said Tibor, as he and the Oracle watched the girls. He knew he should have been smiling, and he truly was happy, but the resemblance between those two guardians and…he shrugged it off. Now was a happy time, not a time to be reminiscing in sad memories.

"Waiting has ended," said the Oracle, who_ was _smiling. With a wave of his hand, the 'screen' with which they were watching the guardians with vanished.

"We can start."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I still can't understand what happened," confessed Taranee. The new guardians were now standing outside the Silver Dragon.

"Nothing happened!" insisted Cornelia, "No offence Hay Lin, but your grandma isn't completely sane. She told a stupid story to amaze with that jewelry!" Hay Lin _was _offended and looked shocked that Cornelia would suggest such a thing.

"I think you're a little afraid, Cornelia," smirked Irma. Doe slapped her hand on her forehead. Now Irma would experience her first fight as a guardian. But to her great surprise (not that she showed it), Cornelia just balled up her fists and said through gritted teeth, "I don't believe in everything like _some _people. I'm going home," and she walked away, never looking back.

"I think I'm going to go talk to her," announced Doe, and walked off after her.

"Wait!" said Irma and walked after her, Hay Lin on her heels.

"If we really are some kind of super team, we should have some costumes," she declared as she and Hay Lin dragged Doe back to the group.

"And a name!" exclaimed Hay Lin as she took out her pen and started righting on her hand. Doe walked behind her to see what she was writing. Between Halloween and yesterday, Doe found she liked to watch as Hay Lin wrote on her hand, whether it was nonsense or not.

"W.i.t.c.h.d," read Doe out loud as Hay Lin showed them her hand

"They are our names first letters! Isn't it great!?" Hay Lin said, always the optimist.

"Some day, you will get ink poisoning," said Taranee, her hands behind her back and imitating a wise professor or something like that.

"Already has," smirked Irma, "W.i.t.c.h.d? Have you heard anything sillier?" Doe grabbed Hay Lin hand and took the pencil from her other hand.

"Thank you," she muttered as she did that before writing a single line on the girl's hand. Curious, Hay Lin quickly swiped back her hand, then grinned.

"That's better. W.i.t.c.h'd," Hay Lin announced as she showed them her ink poisoned hand.

"I still think it's silly," muttered Irma, "What do you think Will?"

"I don't know. I'm still very confused," confessed Will. There was a moment of silence after she said this before it was broken by Doe.

"Well, could someone give me directions to Cornelia's house?" asked Doe.

"Oh yeah, you've never been there," remembered Irma and she gave her the directions.

"Thanks," said Doe and she walked off. Suddenly, Will remembered something.

"Hey Doe, tell us what you think of this whole thing tomorrow, ok? You still haven't told us," reminded Will.

"No need, I can tell you now. I believe it," and she continued her walk.

"Bye _Domunatrum_," teased Irma. Doe just shot her a glare, not stopping.

Once she disappeared around the corner they heard a voice yell, "Hi girls!" they turned around and saw Elyon running towards them excitedly.

"Elyon!" greeted Irma, "The date ended already?"

"Just these first ones! Cedric wants to meet me again in the gym hall," said Elyon dreamily.

"Oh, such romantic places," smirked Hay Lin sarcastically.

"He said that he wants to tell me something important," continued Elyon.

"We'll see," laughed the duo.

"You guys should come with me!" exclaimed Elyon suddenly, out of her dreamy state, "Then I won't feel so nervous!"

"I won't say no if I get to mess with others' with permission," declared Irma

"I'm coming!" said Hay Lin.

"Me too, Elyon," nodded Will.

"What about you Taranee? Promise you'll come?" asked Elyon.

"I don't think so. My parents won't let me out two nights in a row," confessed Taranee sadly. She really wanted to go. Irma slung her arms around Hay Lin and Will's shoulders.

"That's three of us already! Isn't that enough?" she smiled. Hay Lin looked like she was getting ready for battle, and Irma was flashing her biggest smile. Will stifled her laughter and the sight of the duo.

"I think so!" announced Elyon, who, unlike Will, didn't hold back her laughter at the sight of them, "I really do."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doe was standing outside the building Cornelia lived in. She rang the bell that had 'Hale' written on it.

"Hello?" came a woman's voice who Doe could only guess was Cornelia's mother.

"Good Evening ma'am," greeted Doe politely, "I'm one of Cornelia's friends, Doe. May I please speak to her, and if it's ok with you, come in?"

"Of course! Here, I'll tell her," she heard a few voices and she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Then she heard a big beep from the gate.

"You may come in now. We're on the highest floor," informed Mrs. Hale.

"Thank you," said Doe, and then she swung open the gates. When she reached their floor, she was greeted by the whole family, then quickly led to Cornelia's room by Cornelia.

"So, what did you come here for?" demanded Cornelia once she shut the door.

"Hello, I'm fine thank you, nice to see you again too," said Doe sarcastically.

"Whatever," huffed Cornelia as she sat down on her bed.

"Look, I'll just get straight to the point. I know you don't want to believe that what's happening is magic, but you know as well as I do, that what Hay Lin's grandmother said is true, and that we actually are the new guardians of this veil thingy," said Doe.

"No Doe! There is no such thing as magic!" complained Cornelia.

"Calm down," insisted Doe, and sat down next to the blond girl, putting a hand on her shoulder. Cornelia instantly felt a wave of calm wash through her, but when she realized that Doe was doing this, she quickly shrugged of her hand.

"Don't do that!" exclaimed Cornelia, "I don't want you to make me calm down with you little magic tricks. How do I trust you?"

"See, you know it's magic."

"No, no, no! Don't change the subject every time we corner you!" warned Cornelia, then she sighed when she saw Doe eyes, which showed the pain her face didn't at Cornelia's outburst.

"I'm sorry Doe, but you have to give us answers," said Cornelia calmly.

"I don't know what I do. It's like all those little things that happening to all of us."

"Except you know how to use it, even if you didn't know what it was. I remember now, how you always used to hide from everyone, it seemed like you were hiding in the shadows and now I know how you did that. You know, the darkness thing. I didn't notice that before, but in the past few days I got to know you better, and it's obvious now.

"When I didn't know you this well, my eyes used to somehow slip past you and to the next person. You just have to touch someone and they instantly calm down if you want them too. You have to explain to me. I don't even know if I can trust you, or if it's another one of your tricks."

Now Doe's face _did _show her pain from Cornelia's words.

"You think I'm using _magic_ to make you all trust me?" she asked, looking Cornelia straight in the eyes. Cornelia turned away.

"I-I…I don't know anything about you at all, I didn't know that Doe wasn't your full name until today, I don't know your favorite sport or hobby, I don't know where you're from, who your parents are…" admitted Cornelia. Doe frowned.

"My full name is Domunatrum… Domunatrum Cornelia Reed, my favorite sport is basketball, and I like roller skating and playing the piano. I sometimes draw, though I don't like it that much, I'm Irma's neighbor, and my parents are... doctors in the local hospital."

Cornelia was silent, staring at Doe with wide eyes, and Doe was looking straight back.

"You're middle name's Cornelia?" asked Cornelia in disbelief. Doe nodded.

"My parents always loved that name, but insisted on naming me _Domunatrum_ and made Cornelia my middle name." Cornelia nodded slowly.

"Soo…you like roller skating?" Doe nodded again, "Well I figure skate, so there's two things we have in common. Our names, and our hobbies. And both are not _completely_ in common…" and the two continued talking.

And just like that the ice was broken between the two. Doe's visit to reassure Cornelia turned into a visit to become better friends. Just like that. And when it was time for Doe to leave, both knew they had become much better friends, if not best friends.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Next night**

Hay Lin, Irma, and Will were standing outside the school gates, which were open.

"The gate is open," said Hay Lin.

"She must be here already," guessed Will as she looked around as they headed to the gym. The school sure looked creepy at night. Will opened the gym doors. It was dark and they couldn't see anything.

"Elyon! Are you here?!" called Will into the darkness.

"It's dark in here," said Irma. She didn't like the dark that much, "I bet she's home already."

"Irma's right. Let's go!" insisted Hay Lin.

"Wait…I'll put on the lights," said Will as she felt the wall next to her for the switch.

Then so many things happened at once. Irma screamed as she and Hay Lin were grabbed by Vathek. The door behind Will shut which caused Will to scream and Hay Lin spat at the monster, "Let go monkey! This isn't funny." Then a voice hissed, "Welcome guardians!"

"Who…who are you? What do you want?" asked Will, frightened. She was looking around for the source of the voice, but she found no one.

"We want to destroy you… and take over your world. The veil is weak and without you, the whole universe is ours!"

"The veil!" breathed Will. That was what Hay Lin's grandmother was talking about!

"Soon the veil will break and it'll be time to open a portal to your world and then shadows will rule the universe!" the snake-like voice declared. Suddenly, Will felt like her hand was on fire!

"Ow, my hand!" gasped Will.

"What do I do with these two?" asked Vathek, who still held the struggling girls in his arms.

"Make a mine and drown them, Vathek!"

At this, Irma screamed, "HELP!" while Hay Lin just screamed! Heart of Kandracar and the forces of nature! Now I remember, thought Will as she looked at the Heart of Kandracar.

"Irma! Water! Hay Lin! Air!" at Will's command, two silver and blue orbs flew out of the Heart and to their owners.

Irma gasped in delight as she felt magic spread through her body as she transformed. Hay Lin seemed to be as free as air as her hair was free from her goggles and magic took over her. The same feeling of magic spread though Will as a pink orb flew over to her. Vathek was shielding his eyes from the light. As he said before, he really did hate the light!

Once the light vanished, the girls were in new clothes and what was most surprising was that…well they had to accept it, their bodies were older, even if their brains weren't. No, that wasn't the most surprising. They had wings. (**A/N: please don't make me describe how they look. You all probably know anyway. Right?)**

"We have wings!" exclaimed Hay Lin.

"We really are magical creatures!" confirmed Irma as she looked herself up and down.

"Destroy them, Vathek! Destroy them!" ordered the voice. Vathek swiped at them again and again but he was too slow.

"Too slow, monster," teased Will as she dodged his blows. Suddenly, some sort of huge vortex **(A/N: portal people, it's a portal)** appeared and Irma was about to fall in it.

"Look out, Irma!" cried Hay Lin and she leaped forward to grab Irma's hand. Suddenly the fire (which was caused by the portal since it appeared right above the generator) spread around them, trapping the duo.

"Hay Lin! Use your wings! Fly away!" cried Will. Hay Lin immediately took off, holding Irma's hand.

"It's easy, since I'm air!" realized Hay Lin. Suddenly, Vathek appeared behind Hay Lin and knocked her to the ground, causing her to let go of Irma. Good thing they weren't near the fire anymore. Vathek then grabbed Hay Lin's arms and held her in front of him, grinning evilly.

"Pathetic fly! Your powers aren't useful if you don't know how to use them!" spat Vathek as he held her. Irma got to her feet. It was her turn to save Hay Lin.

"Stop right there!" ordered Irma. She raised her arms towards him and shot a huge wave off water at him, knocking both him and Hay Lin to the ground. Irma quickly helped the small girl to her feat.

"Thanks for the shower!" thanked Hay Lin sarcastically as she shook her hair. Then she remembered she had _power over air_ and used a warm wind to dry herself.

"You're welcome!" Irma fired back just as sarcastically, "I take care of things with style!"

"Come on girls, let's go," said Will, the only one not joking. How can they joke when a fire's spreading? thought Will as they walked to the door. But a monster that looked half human- half snake blocked them from leaving. Yes, he was that big!

"Who are you?" asked Will, frightened all over again. He opened his mouth to answer but Vathek interrupted.

"Hurry master! The portal is closing!" called Vathek who was standing near the portal which was shrinking at a steady pace. As he said that, the Heart started glowing brightly in Will's hand. The duo crowded around her.

"The portal can't close, Vathek! Keep it open!" ordered Vathek's master.

"Now," Will told the Heart gently and the portal instantly disappeared.

"Nooooo!" yelled the monster as this happened. To top it off, the fire spread between him and the guardians, blocking their view of each other.

"No…the fight ends here," admitted the monster as he transformed, "But remember, here, the war starts, and it will be long and cruel!" he hissed. The next sentence he uttered was not snake-like, but sounded human.

"Goodbye witches!" smirked Cedric.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the other side of the flames, the girls were shocked as the place burned with flames.

"The whole place is in flames! What do we do?" asked Hay Lin as she stepped closer to her friends.

"Nothing!" answered Will, "Firemen will be here soon."

"But they can't see us like this!" reminded Irma, gesturing to their wings. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and they were back to there normal clothes.

"Oops, no need to worry, I guess," said Irma as she looked down at her clothes.

"Let's get out quickly!" ordered Will as she ran to the door, the duo close on her heels. Once outside and the firemen had arrived, the three girls were watching them put out the fire from the school gates. Irma turned to Will.

"What…what are we going to do, Will?" she asked gently.

"I don't know Irma. Let's talk about this tomorrow. Too much has happened tonight," answered Will. The three turned to walk home. Unknown to them, a figure was watching them from behind a tree, "I just want to go home."

It was Elyon.

**Well, that's that. Please review and tell me if you'd like me to continue or not. This is only the first comic so there weren't many twists other than the few you've read. Believe me, there will be much more. I hope you're all satisfied with the role I gave Doe, and please review about what you think of her too. Thank you and goodbye dudes and dudettes!**


	2. Issue 2: The Twelve Portals

**Here for chapter 2. I'm really trying to get this story interesting. Whoever read the first chapter and didn't review, could ya please review for this one? Thanks in advance for those who do and no problem for those who don't. I've learnt that you shouldn't continue a story for other people, you should continue if you like it. Now, on with the story.**

Issue 2: The Twelve Portals

Heatherfield. The name means a field of flowers. In a heatherfield, you would expect colorful and beautiful flowers around. And indeed, in the city, that is what you see. But here, in Elyon Brown's garden, that is not the case. It is just branches, weeds, and a deep silence.

As the newly crowned guardians walked into Elyon's house, some, like Wilma "Will" Vandom, Taranee Cook, Irma Lair, and Hay Lin, were looking around, spooked by the silence. Others, such as Cornelia Hale, played tough and looked straight ahead, face blank and eyes like steel. Yet others, in particular Domunatrum "Doe" Reed (only call her by her full name unless you have a death wish or if you're Irma), seemed at peace with the silence and darkness of the garden.

"Elyon! Are you here?" called out Irma to the house. They had been informed that their friend and her family had vanished, and decided to take a look for themselves. How did they know this, you ask? Irma's dad is a policeman, and Irma and her mother were the first to know about anything unusual happening in Heatherfield.

"Face it Irma, she's not here," declared Cornelia, her face not revealing anything of what she was feeling.

"But she can't just disappear! Unless she went on a trip without telling us," said Hay Lin. The small girl seemed like she could be blown away by the wind, which suited her role as the Air Guardian.

"We'll meet her again," declared Will, still looking at the house. Will was the keeper of the Heart of Kandracar.

"How're you so sure?" Taranee asked their determined friend.

"I can feel it," she then turned to the others, a smile on her face, "After all we're witches, right?"

"Indeed," confirmed Cornelia, though her face looked bored. She was taking of her glove on one of her hands.

"What are you going to show us, Cornelia?" Doe asked the Earth Guardian, though she already knew that her confident friend was going to show them her powers. Cornelia just smirked at the Darkness guardian.

"Watch and learn, Shadow Girl," smirked Cornelia as she leaned down and put her gloveless hand on the grass. Suddenly, beautiful flowers erupted out of the earth, making the Brown's guardian flowerless no more. Taranee looked shocked that Cornelia just used her powers, here of all places, with the risk of getting caught! Irma looked more angry than shocked.

"If Elyon comes back tomorrow, she'll get a beautiful reception!" informed Cornelia.

"Nice, but you missed a spot," joked Doe. Unlike the Fire and Water Guardians, the Darkness Guardian was not disturbed by Cornelia's show of magic.

"Are you crazy?! Somebody could have seen that!" scolded Irma angrily. Cornelia turned away from Irma.

"There's no one here," she informed. Doe watched the argument with her eyebrows raised and eyes sparkling with amusement.

"There could have been!" Irma continued to yell.

"But there wasn't!" Cornelia yelled back, turning to face the shorter girl. Suddenly, a growl of thunder interrupted the girls, causing them both to look up at the sky.

"Oh no! Thunderstorm," said Taranee, looking up at the cloud-filled sky. She didn't like them that much.

"Again," added Doe, looking up as well. She still seemed at peace.

"And this seems like it's gonna be a bad one," informed Will, "We better head back." As the girls walked out of the Brown's garden, Hay Lin whispered to Taranee.

"Cornelia's been a little uptight since we found out we had magical powers," she whispered, looking at the tall blond as she walked ahead of the group with Doe.

"Yeah, though she does seem closer to Doe," Taranee whispered back, "Closer than the rest of us, that is."

"How do we get her to open up?" asked Will, joining the conversation. The two girls jumped slightly.

"Sleepover?" suggested Irma, joining as well.

"Forget about sleepovers, I still can't believe this is happening," said Taranee, "But it is, and it's happening to all of us!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The Twelve Portals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_Flashback_

_It all started a month ago…_

"_And that's when the monster disappeared and we _just_ got away," recounted Irma, telling the other three guardians about their adventure in the school gym._

"_But the weirdest thing is Elyon. She wasn't even there," informed Will as the girls walked across the field and to their bench._

"_I talked to Cedric and he said he hadn't even talked to Elyon after the party," added Cornelia. She was concerned about her best friend, even if she didn't show it._

"_And now she's hasn't been to school for three days and I keep calling her house but nobody answers," Irma chipped in._

"_What do you think happened," Taranee asked Will. The Fire Guardian had been mesmerized and terrified by the duo and Will's story._

"_Don't ask me," answered Will as they sat down on the bench. Cornelia and Doe kept standing. Will conjured up the Heart, "Here are our answers," she finished as the jewel glowed brightly._

"_Grandma's story is true! We really are magical creatures," gasped Hay Lin as she stared at the glowing Heart. Cornelia huffed in disbelief as she rested her hand on the wall next to her, which had vines growing all over it. Hay Lin noticed Cornelia's little huff._

"_If you don't believe it you should at least try…" she told her, standing up to measure to Cornelia's height. Even then, she had to look up._

"_Try? Why would I do that?" asked Cornelia, looking at Hay Lin dangerously. But it was Doe who spoke in her usual monotone voice._

"_Because it's true," Doe finished for Hay Lin. Right after she said that, as if to confirm what the two guardians were saying, a vine grew out of the wall and snaked itself up Cornelia's arm. Cornelia yelped in surprise as she jumped away from the wall._

"_Did I do that," asked Cornelia, holding her hand. Hay Lin sat back down, satisfied._

"_Yes, Cornelia, you control earth," Will reminded her. She then turned to Taranee, "And you, Taranee, control fire."_

'_Oooh, better not get her angry," joked Irma in a mock-frightened voice, leaning away from Taranee, who was on the other side of the bench, next to Hay Lin._

"_I'm so afraid!" Taranee told her friends, "I won't to understand what doing on!" she confessed, terrified at the thought of controlling fire. She was afraid of many things, and fire was on top of the list. Now she was told she could_ control_ fire, she was even more frightened._

"_Me too," sighed Will, "We just need time."_

"_We need _a lot_ of time," Cornelia corrected_ _her._

"_But we'll understand," Will comforted Taranee._

"_I bet you that we will," chipped in Doe, whose eyes were shining so brightly with laughter that if they 'laughed' any more, her mouth_ _would _have _to join in with her eyes. Taranee secretly hoped that would happen._

"_And, apparently, she always win's her bets," Cornelia told them, who was glaring at Doe. Irma and Hay Lin laughed at this, realizing something that Will and Taranee didn't as the said two stared at the duo curiously._

"_Looks like our Corny finally lost a bet!" laughed Irma. _

_End flashback_

"Want to come for a cup of tea?" asked Will, interrupting Taranee's thoughts. While Taranee was lost in her memories, they had reached Will's house.

"Yeah!" agreed Irma. Doe, Taranee, and Cornelia just nodded.

"Sorry Will, I don't have time," apologized Hay Lin, "I have to get home."

"No problem, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then," said Will. She smiled at the younger girl but was sad that she couldn't come. Hay Lin nodded.

"Yeah, bye!" she called to them as she walked away.

"Where's she running off too?" asked Cornelia as they headed to Will's house.

"Home. Her grandma's really sick and Hay Lin wants to help her," answered Irma, who had a somewhat protective look on their face. Doe looked away at the sound of the news, a pained look in her eyes. She quickly hid it before it raised suspicion.

As Will entered her house Taranee hovered by the door.

"May I come in," she asked timidly. That wasn't the case with Irma, Cornelia, and Doe. Irma had flopped on the couch as if she were at home. Cornelia was taking of her coat and hanging it on the coat hanger/rack/thingy. Doe had already hung her coat and flopped down next to Irma, then sunk deep into her thoughts.

"Welcome!" greeted Will and pulled Taranee in.

"Whoo, I'm tiiiired!" yawned Irma from her place on the couch.

"Funny, I wouldn't have noticed," said Doe, sarcasm dripping from her words as she leaned back on the couch and watched, amused, as Irma yawned and got ready to sleep there and then on the couch.

"I don't get it," said Will suddenly, interrupted Irma's snooze, "We're fighting against our friend, who has suddenly disappeared off the face of Heatherfield, and here we are, sipping tea." Everyone had turned to look at Will and there was a moment of silence after what she said until Irma broke it.

"I don't know, maybe we're crazy," suggested Irma, leaning back on the couch. Doe shrugged.

"Maybe," she said and leaned back as well.

"Speak for yourselves," accused Cornelia, staring at both them, not believing they could just joke about this. Will's little speech had hit Cornelia with reality like a ton of bricks, and she was the one down to earth! If they stopped joking, reality would hit _them_ like millions of tons of bricks!

Will had gone to the kitchen to get the tea and Taranee had followed.

"There's a big secret behind this, I don't what it is, but there is," wondered Will out loud.

"Why don't we ask Hay Lin's grandmother when she feels better?" suggested Taranee, "But until then we better keep our eyes open." Suddenly a bolt of lightening flashed, accompanied a few seconds later by a huge growl of thunder. Taranee yelped.

"Wide open!" added Cornelia from the living room. Will had made it there before the black out had occurred.

"My eyes are wide open, but I can't see anything!" yelped Irma who had sat forward on the couch.

"It's a black out, idiot," said Cornelia.

"What do you mean?" asked Doe. She could see perfectly!

"There's a black out Doe," said Irma slowly, trying to get it through Shadow girl's head, "Either that or you have night vision," they all froze. Irma meant it as a joke but maybe Doe really did have…

"Night vision!" exclaimed Irma, "Awesome!"

"Of course," realized Taranee, mentally slapping herself for not guessing it, "It makes sense for our resident darkness girl to have _night vision_!"

"So what do we do about the rest of us," asked Cornelia.

"Wait, I think there are a few candles here," said Will, putting down the tea.

"I think I can take care of that!" declared Taranee. She then conjured up flames and sent them around the room and to the other rooms in the house.

"Oh!" exclaimed Will as one floated in front of her. Irma was pure shocked and Cornelia tried not to look too surprised. Doe looked very interested.

"And they don't burn," Doe informed her friends after she had stuck her finger in one that floated past her.

"Come on, my turn!" declared Will as she walked into the kitchen.

"Anyone wants food?" she asked. Irma jumped off the couch at this.

"Sure!" she exclaimed as she followed Will into the kitchen.

"What is there today, James," asked Will, a smug look on her face. The others had followed them into the kitchen.

"James? Who's that? Some kind of butler of yours?" asked Irma, looking around for 'James'.

"There's not much to choose from," said the fridge in an English accent. Wait… said the fridge!?

"Aaah!" exclaimed Irma.

"But you should note that the cheese beside the pickles is no longer good," he informed her.

"The fridge is talking!" exclaimed Irma, turning to Cornelia who had the same shocked expression as Irma.

"Unbelievable!" she breathed. Taranee's eyes were as wide as saucers and Doe's were a mixture of amusement and shock.

"I'm sorry James, but I'll take it anyway," said Will as she rook out the cheese.

"The fridge is talking!" exclaimed Irma to Cornelia again.

"I know, I know. I'm not deaf!" argued Cornelia, her shocked look gone and replaced by an annoyed one.

"That's James," introduced Will.

"We noticed," said Doe.

"He's very accurate about our food," she told them, smiling at Doe's comment. Taranee was still staring in shock at Will then at James and back again, as if watching a tennis rally.

"Yesterday, I noticed I can talk to machines. I've given them all names already! And they can work without powers and everything!" informed Will, given them a much needed explanation.

"That's a great way to save money! Now could your TV turn on channel 16? There's a cute rock band playing and I want to watch them!" asked Irma as she jumped back on the couch.

"Heard that Billy?" Will asked the TV.

"No, no, and no! You know how much I hate today's music!" protested Billy the TV, "How about a cute documentary about bears?" he asked and tuned in to just that. Irma looked downcast.

"But…" Irma trailed off, looking at Will for an explanation.

"Don't mind Billy; he's a pretty old TV!" laughed Will then added, "I learnt some pretty neat things from the programs he's forced me to watch."

"Humph," huffed Irma but continued to watch the bears on TV. 'She seems to be enjoying it,' thought Will as she returned to the others, leaving Irma sipping at her tea, watching the TV despite her protest.

"Um…I don't want to bother you but…do you think you could print my biology project?" asked Taranee, handing Will a floppy disk from her bag.

"Sure!" answered Will and led her into her room and introduced her to George and Mildred, the computer and printer, who Will thought were a couple due to their constant bickering.

"What do you think about all this?" Cornelia asked Doe while Will and Taranee were in Will's room. The Darkness Guardian just shrugged.

"It's cool," she said simply. Cornelia raised her eyebrows.

"That's it? Just an, 'It's cool'?" she asked in disbelief, "At lest give me an answer longer than two syllables!" Doe shrugged again.

"It's very cool," she said, almost grinning. Cornelia huffed in exasperation.

"You tell 'er, Doe," encouraged Irma from her place on the couch, never taking her eyes off the TV. Will and Taranee returned and they all sat at the table. Except for Irma, of course, who was sipping away in front of the TV. They were all sitting and sipping in silence, until Doe broke it.

"Well, I think we should talk more about what's happening and about our powers. I, for one, having been trying them, and have a trick I'd like to show you," declared Doe as she got up from the table. Irma ripped her eyes away from the screen to look at Doe's trick.

"You've been practicing!? You could have been caught, then"- started Will but then she was cut off by Cornelia.

"It's not like you haven't, Miss I-can-talk-to-machines," countered Cornelia. Will sat back down, defeated. Doe sent a silent thanks to Cornelia before she took a deep breath. Suddenly, she was gone.

"DOE!" yelled Cornelia, Will, and Irma, jumping out of their seats.

"Relax!" calmed Taranee, the only one not loosing her head, though her eyes were as wide as saucers, and she was standing as well, "Look at the floor." They all obeyed. There, on the floor was a shadow. It wasn't somebody's shadow, just a big blob of black. It crossed across the floor and entered Cornelia's shadow. Then it made her shadow dance the can-can.

"When you get out of your little shadow, Doe, I'm gonna rip your head off!" threatened Cornelia over the sound of the other three girls laughing uncontrollably. Irma was rolling on the floor, clutching her stomach and Taranee and Will had tears in their eyes.

The shadow/blob/thingy swam out of the Earth Guardian's shadow and turned back into Doe whose eyes were laughing as much as Irma. Cornelia growled and started chasing Doe around the apartment. After a few minutes, and Cornelia still hadn't captured the Darkness Guardian, Will stepped in.

"Alright guys, that's enough," she said still smiling, "Let's talk about this." Cornelia sent Doe one last glare before sitting down again. Doe just smiled back in her own way (ya know, with the eyes thingy) and sat down as well. This time Irma joined them. They had all calmed down and were ready to talk seriously.

"Now that that's over," said Cornelia, sending one final glare at Doe, "What's Kandracar like? What is the middle of infinity?"

"Exactly my thoughts," confirmed Taranee.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Hay Lin's grandmother said Kandracar _is_ the middle of infinity," said Irma. She was teasing Cornelia, yet pointing out a fact.

"Is it _in_ the middle of infinity or _is _itthe middle of infinity?" asked Doe, unsure.

"Who cares, same thing," said Irma, brushing Doe's question aside. Doe just shrugged.

"Here's one more question: what kind of dangers are still awaiting us?" asked Taranee.

"And who were the weird monsters in the gym hall?" Will asked yet another question.

"Waaaay too many questions," muttered Irma to Doe under her breath.

"Too true," Doe muttered back.

"I think it'd be good to practice our powers someday, so we could use them better," informed Cornelia, looking around to see if there were any objections.

'Cornelia is right," confirmed Will, "It would be horrible if we made a mistake just because we didn't know how to use our powers." Suddenly, Irma had a guilty look on her face.

"Um…yeah…about that…" started Irma but she was cut off by Will.

"Oh no!" cried Will as she looked out the window.

"What's the matter?" asked Taranee as she jumped out of her seat.

"Are the lizard man and blue gorilla back?" asked Irma, twisting her head to look out the window.

"Worse…my mom's back!" panicked Will, "Quick do something about the fire!" ordered Will to Taranee as Irma starting flapping a book at the nearest one to her, but to no avail.

"I'm trying, but they're not going out!" cried Taranee, " Doe, can't you do something?" she asked.

"I'll try," she said calmly, trying to keep a cool head. She slapped her hands so that she smashed one of the fires between them, but it slipped out.

"This is why we need to practice!" yelled Cornelia.

"TV, out!" ordered Will. She then ran into her room, "Stop already, George!" Will ordered, still panicked.

"Wait, I'm almost done," answered the printer, Mildred, "Five, four, three.." Will looked back into the living room when she heard the jingle of key. They weren't going to make it!

"One!" cried Mildred and shut down instantly as the door opened. Will made her way to the living room, with a candle, though she feared the worst, but all the fires were out.

"Will, are you at home?" asked Susan she entered the house.

"Ahem, hi mom," Will answered from her place on the couch. She had sat down and placed the candle on the table.

"Good evening Mrs. Vandom! Would you like some tea?" asked Irma, holding up the cup.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same time, at Hay Lin's house, a soaked Air Guardian entered the Silver Dragon.

"Is anybody here?" called Hay Lin to the empty house. She got no answer. As she walked up the stairs, she called again, "Mom? Dad? Anybody home?" before she rounded the corner, she heard her father's voice.

"What do you think, doctor?" he asked. He and a man Hay Lin could easily guess was the doctor were standing in the hallway. Her father's face was etched with worry while the doctor's was in pity.

"I don't know what to say Mr. Lin…her cold has made her condition much worse…medications can't do miracles…your mom is very sick and tired…" the doctor placed a sympathetic hand on Mr. Lin's shoulder. Hay Lin felt like her world was spiraling downwards. This couldn't be happening. 'Grandma will pull through…she always did…right?' Hay Lin's thoughts were troubled and no one was there to answer her unspoken question.

"We'll continue taking care of her," continued the doctor, "Spend as much time with her as possible. That's what she need right now. You know what I mean?" said the doctor sympathetically.

"Yeah, I know," answered Hay Lin's dad in a sad voice.

"Dad…" Hay Lin said in a small voice, "I'm home…"

"Is this the same little girl"- started the doctor but he was cut of by Mr. Lin.

"You're soaked, Hay Lin," he said in an empty voice, not showing any emotion. It was all he could do to not break down crying for his mother, "Go change before you get sick," he told her.

"Yes Dad," answered Hay Lin in the same small voice as she passed him. Instead of going to her room, she slid into her grandmother's room.

"Grandma!" gasped as she saw her lying on the bed in the room. It pained her to see her grandmother like this. She was always so lively and always cracking jokes. In some ways she reminded Hay Lin of Irma. This made the Air Guardian even more attached to Irma than she already was. The Water Guardian was her best friend and sister in every way possible. The only thing not tying them was blood.

"Warm south winds will dry you quicker, dear," said Yan Lin as Hay Lin took of her coat. "Show me some of your powers, now that your father isn't here," she asked.

"Ok," answered Hay Lin. She raised her hands above her head and sent a warm wind, drying herself. A peaceful look appeared on her face as the wind swept her dry.

"Haha! Wonderful darling!" praised Yan Lin, clapping happily. Seeing more of her grandmother's old self brought a true smile to Hay Lin's face.

"You really think so?" she asked as she knelt next to her grandmother. Yan Lin smiled and nodded.

"I think you're going to be very skillful," she said as she stroked her granddaughter's long, black hair. She then grabbed her cheek.

"But get something to eat! If you don't eat soon, the north winds are going to blow you away!" she exclaimed jokingly. Hay Lin smiled even more. Her grandma was going to be fine, she just knew it!

"The wind is my fried, granny. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Well, I have been better," Yan Lin answered, still smiling, "How are things with you and the other guardians?" she asked.

"Wonderful. But…do you think you're going to get better?" she asked worryingly, not allowing her to change the subject.

"Of course!" assured Yan Lin, "Could you help me a little, Hay Lin? I have something for you behind the pillow," she informed Hay Lin as she leaned forward. Hay Lin immediately jumped up to help her grandmother. She reached her hand behind the pillow and pulled out a scroll.

"But this is…a piece of paper?" she asked. Why was this so important?

"Yes, and it belongs to you and your friends. Will will know what to do with it," Yan Lin answered.

"What does it say?" asked Hay Lin, as she unrolled the scroll carefully. It looked very old and she didn't want to rip it.

"It is a map that shows the veils twelve portals," she answered. Hay Lin looked at it.

"But…it's blank!" she said, looking at the 'map' curiously.

"Are you sure?" asked Yan Lin slyly. Suddenly the map shown brightly and a map of Heatherfield appeared on it.

"Oh!" gasped Hay Lin, "This is Heatherfield! And that glowing point…" a building was glowing read. Hay Lin peered at it closer. Wait, that was…

"It's your school gym," informed Yan Lin, "There you had your first fight. It's the first portal. Flames closed it, but you have to close the eleven other ones too."

"But they aren't here. What kind of map is this?" asked Hay Lin.

"I have already told you! But you will learn later. You know, I was a guardian too!" informed Yan Lin proudly. Hay Lin gasped and looked at her grandmother with shock and a whole lot of pride and respect. That was hard, since she already was proud and respected her grandmother beyond all limits.

"You were a witch too?!" asked Hay Lin.

"A witch…heh!" chuckled Yan Lin, "I guess that's what they call us these days. But we aren't witches. We are something else." Hay Lin was curious to know more as she sat down next to her grandmother. On the other hand, her imagination was kind of blown since she loved the irony of the W.I.T.C.H'D thing.

"But I was a guardian a long time ago, and now I'm too tired. It's your turn Hay Lin," Yan Lin said, holding her granddaughters hand and looking at her with pride. Just then, Chen Lin walked into his mother's room.

"Time to take your medicine mom!" he said warmly.

"And not any tricks this time!" he warned her like a father scolding his daughter, "I've tasted it and it's good!"

"Why don't you add it to your restaurant's list then, if it's so good?" asked Yan Lin cheekily. Hay Lin held back her laughter as she got off the bed to let her father take her place.

"Don't throw a tantrum in front of Hay Lin," warned Chen Lin playfully.

"Years ago it was me feeding you," said Yan Lin, making a face, "But I never gave you anything _that_ disgusting." She then gulped down the medicine and made another face.

"Wasn't that bad, was it?" asked Chen Lin.

"Yuck!" came the response.

Tears of joy brimmed Hay Lin's eyes as she watched her grandmother joke around, just like her old self. 'Grandma's gonna be fine' she thought happily as she walked over to kiss her on her forehead.

"Good luck Hay Lin, and don't forget to eat something," reminded Yan Lin.

"I promise," Hay Lin answered, "Good night grandma."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Kandracar…

"The guardian's have gotten the map of the twelve portals," informed the Oracle to Tibor as they watched through the misty 'TV'.

"Yan Lin has done a great job, Oracle," said Tibor truthfully.

"She has made her duty to an end," agreed the Oracle, smiling peacefully. Tibor sighed.

"I understand," said Tibor.

"You know what to do, Tibor," said the Oracle as he walked out of the room. The 'TV' showed a peaceful Yan Lin, sleeping on her bed with a smile on her face, "Tell everyone to be ready. I want her to get the reception she deserves."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next day, the girls met outside school.

"So," started Cornelia as the six girls walked into school, "Have you heard the news already?" asked Cornelia. The other girls just shot her questioning glances. Doe, however looked deep in thought.

"Police are after our principal! I just saw them," she informed them.

"Poor Knicker Bocker! She's mean, but doesn't deserve to go to jail!" laughed Hay Lin.

"I'm sure they aren't after her. Did you watch the news?" asked Will.

"No, why?" asked Hay Lin.

"It was in the paper too," informed Taranee. Apparently, she knew what Will was talking about, "One of the students has disappeared." Doe finally pulled out of her own little world and looked at the Fire Guardian.

"His name is Andrew Hornby," added Cornelia. She knew about it as well, despite her joking earlier about their principal, "Heard of him?"

"The cute blond from 9D?" asked Hay Lin in disbelief.

"Yeah, apparently Andrew hasn't been home in three day," informed Will.

"Irma!" remembered Hay Lin as she wrote Andrew's name on her hand, "Didn't you use to have a crush on him?"

"Well…you could say that…" Irma trailed off. She had a guilty expression on her face. Doe and Hay Lin eyed her suspiciously.

"I tried to tell you guys yesterday that"- Irma started but she was cut off by Taranee as the principal's door opened.

"Look! They're leaving!" she exclaimed as the cops left principal Knicker Bocker's office. The principal herself was standing outside the door as they left.

"See, they didn't arrest her," confirmed Cornelia, looking down at the small Hay Lin.

"Humph, next time then," she declared.

"Hay Lin, I need to talk to you," called Mrs. Knicker Bocker suddenly. 'Oh no!' thought Hay Lin, 'did she hear me?'

"Come into my office for a minute," said the principal as she opened the door for the young girl. Hay Lin obliged, walking timidly to her 'doom'.

The girls watched the silhouettes of the principal and Hay Lin trough the window. It wasn't completely transparent, but they could make out the figures. They saw Hay Lin put her hand behind her head sheepishly. Then the principal stood with her hands behind her back as Hay Lin sat on the chair. They could see her mouth moving, but heard nothing. Then Hay Lin put her head into her hands and the principal put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

Irma could feel her heart breaking at the sight of her optimistic best friend, her partner in crime, her sister, crying.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wind is blowing a beautiful scent in the air. People have gathered at Heatherfield's graveyard for the funeral of Yan Lin. They were all dressed in white. In Chinese funeral, white is the color of sadness. It symbolizes pure white snow, even if winter is far away. Even though it's not snowing, it's cold.

Chen Lin stood behind his daughter and next to his wife. He walked over to the grave and picked up a handful of dirt. He then dropped it over the coffin.

"You may start," he told the men that had to bury the coffin. They had their hats off in respect.

Hay Lin hugged her parents tightly and closed her eyes as she let the tears fall down. She was so sure that her grandmother would be alright. But she wasn't. She was gone.

Her friends watched sadly. Taranee took off her glasses to wipe her eyes. Will and Cornelia were watching the funeral sadly. Doe was watching Hay Lin, with a protective glint in her eyes. Irma wanted to reach out to her friend and hug her, comfort her through all of this like they always had let each other.

"Thank you for coming," said Hay Lin in a small voice as she walked over to her friends. Irma opened her arms, inviting her for a hug. The small Asian obliged and rushed into her sister's arms and cried even more. She thought she had no more tears, but there they were again. Irma felt her friend's tears on her back and squeezed her friend in a comforting way. She would always be there for her.

"Of course, Hay Lin!" assured Will.

"You are great, all of you!" Hay Lin mumbled as she hugged Irma. Doe put a reassuring hand on Hay Lin's back, in a way to tell her she was there. Suddenly, Hay Lin's eyes widened. She squinted her eyes at the figure in the distance, and pulled slightly out of the hug. 'It can't be…' thought Hay Lin, but as she looked closer, there was no mistake. There, standing next to a tree near the other side of the graveyard, was none other than…

"Elyon!" exclaimed Hay Lin, jumping out of the hug and pointing at where Elyon was standing. Or rather, were Elyon _wasn't _standing. She had vanished.

"She was right there!" exclaimed the air wielder.

"What are you talking about Hay Lin? Where?' asked Will.

"It was her! I saw her!" determined Hay Lin. "Elyon!" she called out to the graveyard. No answer.

"It was her – I'm serious!" said Hay Lin as she looked back at her friends, "She can't be far away!"

"Let's go and look," declared Will, "Maybe it was…" she trailed off as she clutched at her head, "Uhh," she moaned in a woozy voice as she staggered backwards. Doe jumped forward and put her hands on Will's shoulders to steady her.

"What's the matter, Will?!" exclaimed Taranee, concerned for her friend, "Are you alright?"

"I feel a little dizzy," confessed Will as she clutching her forehead. She certainly _looked_ dizzy.

"But it's gone already," she smiled sheepishly at Taranee as Doe let go off her shoulders, "I'm fine."

"I think tears made the world all blurry Hay Lin. It's very normal," reasoned Cornelia. Hay Lin just sighed but it was Irma who looked offended. 'How could she say that to Hay Lin?" thought the Water Guardian, 'I believe Hay-Hey. Plus, Elyon's Corny's best friend, she would want to find her more than any of us'.

"Come on, let's go," stated Cornelia and the guardians walked away. Hay Lin gave one last look over her shoulder, before disappearing over the hill with the others.

Right were Hay Lin saw her, Elyon shimmered into view. 'We have to watch out for Hay Lin,' thought Elyon, 'she's a dangerous one. She believes in what can't be seen more than others.'

Standing behind Elyon, was Cedric.

"Excellent work, Elyon," praised Cedric and a smug grin appeared on Elyon face.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next day in Heatherfield, at the Lair residence, the day starts very normally.

"IRMA!" yelled Tom Lair up to his daughter's room, "Do you always have to be late for school?!" Irma rushed downstairs.

"I'm going, I'm going," she breathed as she walked to the front door.

"Have breakfast first, honey," said Irma's mom, Anna Lair, warmly. Irma quickly turned with no hesitation to the table.

"Why can't you be punctual?" asked Tom in despair. Irma raised her chin in the air defiantly as she sat down.

"I _am_ punctual," she declared.

"Riiight, and the rest of the world gets up too early," replied Tom sarcastically.

"Anyway, I have news for you. Aubry's police have found Elyon's parents car," he informed.

"Really!" asked Irma in disbelief. Tom nodded.

"Yes, but there's no sign of them. The whole family's vanished. I'll try to get more info," he said as he walked out the door, "Bye kids!"

"Have you heard the _other_ news?" Anna asked Irma after Tom had zoomed out the front door.

"More news?" groaned Irma as she looked up from her cereal.

"Well, other that Andrew Hornby missing"- Irma looked away at this, "Our neighbors, the Reeds, are moving!" Irma looked back at her mother in shock.

"They are?!" she asked in disbelief. Anna nodded.

"From what I've heard they'll be gone either tonight or tomorrow morning," she informed. Irma made a mental note to confront Doe in front of the others.

"But enough talk - finish your cereal," ordered Anna.

'This keeps getting more and more complicated' thought Irma.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Maybe this isn't such a bad town to live in after all' thought Will as she cycled to school. She was passing through the park when she saw Uriah climbing a tree and his whole gang watching him.

'Uriah and his gang!' thought Will in disgust, 'What are they doing?' she stopped her bike to listen.

"I don't think locking a dormouse in Martin's locker is a good idea," called Nigel up to Uriah.

"You don't know how to have fun Nigel," scolded Uriah, "We are only young once!"

"If only I could get my hands on the little…" muttered Uriah as he reached into the hole in the tree, "Ha! Got it!" he yelled triumphantly. Suddenly, his hand zoomed out of the hole and he was yelling in pain as the dormouse bit his hand.

"Aaah!" he yelled as he dropped to the ground, "Get it off me!" he then jerked his hand angrily, "Get off!" The dormouse rammed into the tree. Uriah picked up a branch and raised it over the poor dormouse.

"Why you little"- he began, but he was cut off.

"Don't even think about it!" yelled Will. She was off her bike at glaring at Uriah in disgust.

"What? You really think you can tell me what to do?" taunted Uriah as he turned to face Will.

"Leave that dormouse alone!" ordered Will.

"Ooh, how demanding!" said Uriah with a mock-frightened tone, "That weird girl isn't here to save you this time!"

"I can take you on by myself!" declared Will.

"Oh yeah? Want to try?" taunted Uriah as he took a step forward. A boy stepped between them.

"I'd like to," he said in a calm manner that reminded Will of Doe. Will couldn't see his face, but he had long, brown hair that reached slightly above his waist and he looked almost six feet, but not more.

"What did you say?" taunted Uriah (he seems to do that a lot lately).

"I'm pretty sure you heard me, unless you're hearing impaired. Now, I advise you to leave," he said, narrowing his eyes at Uriah.

"Come on man, let's leave," whispered Nigel to Uriah. Uriah grunted in response and walked away.

"We'll see you later, _pal_," sneered Uriah. The boy turned to Will and as she saw his face, her heart stopped. His Caucasian white skin brought out his chocolate eyes, which seemed to match perfectly with his hair. To will, she had never seen anyone more handsome.

"I'm Cole Angelheart," he introduced, extending his hand to shake hers. Will continued to gaze at him before she shook herself out of her dreamy state and shook his hand.

"Will Vandom," she managed to get out. There eyes met and neither of them said anything.

"Well, I need to get going," he said suddenly, "Bye!" he called and took off in rather a hurry. Will was disappointed. 'He probably thinks I'm a freak or something' she thought to herself gloomily before she knelt down to the dormouse.

"Hi, little one!" she greeted, shaking away her thoughts, though his face continued to appear in her mind, "Are you okay?" she reached out to pet it but it bit her then quickly let go.

"Ah!" yelped Will, cradling her hand, "You little, ungrateful creature! I saved you!" scolded Will. It tried to run away, but she scurried after it.

"So you come back – huh?" she cut herself off as she saw it standing on someone's shoes.

"Need some help?" the person asked. Will looked at his shoes and guessed it was Uriah.

"Thanks, I can do this on my own," she answered and brought down her fists over the guy's feet painfully – for the guy, that is.

"Ow!" he yelled and grabbed his foot. Will looked up and saw that it wasn't Uriah – it was the lead singer of Cobalt Blue!

"What did you do that for?" he asked, bewildered.

"Oops! I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else!" apologized Will frantically.

"A dormouse is a pretty angry animal, but you aren't a sheep yourself either!" he smiled at her. Will blushed furiously.

"Aren't you Matt?" she asked, trying to change the subject, "I like you at the Halloween party – uh I mean I liked you voice," she stuttered, hoping he didn't catch her slip. If he did, he didn't show it.

"Thank you," he said before turning to the dormouse who had slumped asleep.

"My name is Will," she said.

"Is that your friend, Will?" he asked, pointing at the dormouse. The dormouse jumped up and looked around, confused.

"Look at it, it's still half asleep," he said worryingly. He took out his jumper from his bag and wrapped the dormouse in it.

"This'll help," he informed Will as he did so. When he was done, he stood up, cradling it in his arms. Will looked on with a silent 'Aww!' on her face.

"It curls into itself when it sleeps and will eat almost anything when it's hungry," he informed her.

"Wow, you know a lot about animals," observed Will.

"My grandpa owns a pet store," he explained. He then handed the dormouse to Will, "I can't take this though, the store's full already." Will's 'Aw' look turned into a panicked one and she shook her head vigorously.

"Wait, I don't even know how to take care of him," she told him as she looked at the dormouse in her hands.

"Don't worry, you two are made for each other," he said as the dormouse sniffed Will's nose.

"I'll see you in school. Here's my number if you have some trouble," he said handing Will a paper, "You can call anytime you want," Will blushed furiously and tried to hide it as she took the paper.

"Bye," she called to him and he waved back. She looked at the dormouse in her hands. 'Two boys!' she scolded him silently, 'how do I pick?! They're just both so… kind and…oh no! I'll be late for school!'

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The girls entered the cafeteria. Will had arrived to school extra late after she had cycled home to put the dormouse their and all the way back to school. As they sat down at the table, Irma glared at Doe.

"What?" Doe asked.

"When were you going to tell us you're moving?!" scolded Irma. Everyone's heads turned to Doe in shock and the questions came flooding.

"You're moving!?"

"Why?"

"When?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

The questions continued and Doe sighed.

"Stop!" she halted them. They all immediately stopped, "I tell you everything. I was going to tell you tomorrow but with everything that happened, it slipped my mind. I was going to tell you right now but you can see what happened. We're moving because we…can't afford the place."

"Can't afford?" asked Will.

"Cornelia, remember when I told you that my parents were doctors at the hospital?" Doe asked Cornelia. The Earth Guardian nodded.

"Well, two days after that, they lost their jobs. They're still working at the hospital, but _really _small jobs. My dad drives the ambulance and my mom's a nurse. So we're moving and will be gone by tonight. But don't worry," she said as they opened their mouths to ask more questions, "I'm still in Heatherfield and still coming to Sheffield Institute. So there." She finished and took out her sandwich.

The girls just took a moment to let it sink in.

"So you're okay with this?" asked Will, remembering how hard it was for her to move.

"Sure," Doe shrugged, "I'm just sad we can't take the piano." As that situation died down, Irma hit them with even more news, this time, about Elyon.

"…so that's all I know," finished Irma.

"Isn't Aubry at the borderline? Do you think they're trying to escape?" asked Taranee.

"Maybe, but what would they be escaping?" asked Hay Lin.

"That's a question with many possible answers," answered Cornelia, "Elyon didn't speak much about her family, even though we have been in the same class for three years now," she told them.

"Do you think Elyon has something to do with the ninth grader that's disappeared?" considered Will.

"Everything's possible," said Hay Lin.

"She doesn't," declared Irma. This caused everyone to turn to look at her.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Doe. She had a feeling this would be why Irma was always looking away guiltily at the mention of Andrew Hornby.

"Because…well," stumbled Irma, "I have been trying to tell you guys something these past days but…I'm not sure where to start," confessed Irma.

"Just say it like it is," advised Doe. Irma nodded and took a deep breath.

"I know what happened to Andrew Hornby," she said quickly.

"What!?" exclaimed Cornelia.

"Why haven't you told us anything?" asked Hay Lin.

"Because it's all my fault!" confessed Irma guiltily. Doe raised an eyebrow at this.

"Oh no, Irma!" exclaimed Cornelia with mock-terror, "What ever have you done now!?" she continued. Irma bit back a response but she didn't have to, Doe did it for her.

"Why don't you join the drama club Corny?" asked Doe, her eyes twinkling with amusement, "I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms…and eyes wide with fear!" joked Doe light-heartedly. Cornelia just glared at her and sat back down. Irma smiled before continuing.

"You guys know that I liked him very much, but he never even looked at me, so…" Irma trailed off.

"So?" pressed Will.

"Well, everything happened a week ago. You know Zot, the disco in the city?" everyone nodded, "I knew Andrew was going there, and I thought I could get his attention, and…" Will was whispering over and over again, "Don't say it! Don't say it!"

"I turned into the guardian form," confessed Irma.

"Irma!" scolded Will even though she knew it was coming.

"My parents were sleeping and a just played with the thought and before I knew it, I was in my witch form," explained Irma, "I hid the wings and went to the disco. You should have seen how everybody stared at me!" her guilty look was gone and replaced by one of excitement as she remembered the attention.

"Andrew too?" asked Cornelia.

"He the most!" exclaimed Irma, "We danced and talked the whole evening; it was wonderful!" her rant was stopped by her best friend.

"How could you?!" scolded Hay Lin angrily, "You used your magic powers to get into some disco!?"

"I didn't think I'd do anything wrong," explained Irma as her guilty look returned.

"What happened then?" asked Will.

"When I was leaving, Andrew offered me a ride home and I said yes. Suddenly, he stopped the car and tried to kiss me!" she told them.

"What did you do?" they all asked leaning forward in their seats. Only Doe remained silent and sitting, but her eyes burned with curiosity.

"You really wanna know?" asked Irma and they all nodded.

"I turned him into a frog. He got scared and ran out of the car and into the woods," admitted Irma, hanging her head in shame. She waited for their scolding, but when laughter came instead, she looked up.

They were laughing hysterically. Even Doe, who was smiling and laughing like never before, pounding the table while clutching her stomach.

"What are you laughing about?" asked Irma angrily, "This is serious! A tragedy! A horrible thing!" they just kept laughing.

"Wait a minute…Doe you're laughing!" she said and a smile appeared washing away her angry look, "You're smiling!" They all stopped and looked at Doe, who still had a big smile on her face and was still laughing. Her laugh was beautiful. It wasn't different, or special, but they had never heard it before so it made it all the more pleasant and brought a smile to their already happy faces.

Her smile brightened up her whole face. Her eyes shined like never before as she looked at her friends as her laughter died done. She was still smiling.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Doe.

"Nothing…" said Taranee softly, "you should do it more often."

"Having some trouble?" Martin asked Irma as he walked up to her.

"Martin disapp"- she tried to say bluntly but she felt Hay Lin slap her hand over and all of them jump forward and yell, "Don't say it, Irma!"

Doe just sat their, laughing even more.

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The girls walked out of the cafeteria a few minutes before there other classes would start.

"What are we going to do?" asked Irma.

"We have to find him very quickly and….uhhh!" Will started but she cut herself off as she clutched her head.

"Will! Are you feeling dizzy? Is it serious?" asked Taranee, concerned.

"I don't know," admitted Will, "I feel like I'm falling into emptiness."

"Over there!" yelled Hay Lin suddenly, pointing to something near the school wall.

"What now, Hay Lin?" asked Cornelia exasperatedly.

"Look, this isn't my imagination!" insisted Hay Lin and they all turned to look at what she was pointing at.

"Elyon!" they gasped.

"It can't be! She going through the wall like she's a…a ghost!" stuttered Taranee as Elyon did just that. When she was halfway through the wall, she reached out her hand that was still showing towards them, beckoning them to come, before she disappeared completely.

"Looks like she's trying to ask us to help her!" guessed Will, "She wants to tell us something!"

"Let's follow her!' declared Cornelia, her face determined as she ran towards were Elyon disappeared through the wall. The girls followed her, but Taranee was hesitant. As Irma zoomed passed her, Taranee yelled after them worryingly,

"But school isn't over! We still have two hours!" Irma nodded.

"Let's study harder…" agreed Irma, stopping to look back at Taranee. Taranee looked at her in shock.

"Tomorrow!" finished Doe, who, until now, was standing beside the Fire Guardian. She had that smile they just discovered on her face, which Taranee was starting to hate already, while zooming after them rather quickly, followed by Irma. Taranee groaned before following them. They reached the wall and Taranee looked back at the school, worrying.

"Miss Knicker Bocker won't be too happy about this…" whined Taranee.

"Who said she has to find out?" asked Doe, grinning slyly. She rested her hands on the wall for support, but that wasn't what she got. Her hand went straight though it and she toppled over to the other side!

"How'd she do that?!" asked Irma, placing her hand on the wall and pushing with all her might, but to no avail.

"It's not gonna wo-rk!' said Hay Lin in a sing-song voice.

"I say we join her!" declared Cornelia, "Out of the way!" she ordered as she balled up her fist, which was glowing green. She thrust her hand at the wall created a very large hole that they could all easily step through. Heck, a two meter tall guy could easily walk through it! Doe was grinning widely at them from the other side.

"A hole," she said, impressed, "Nice choice," she praised Cornelia. Cornelia grinned at her and walked over to her, followed by the rest.

"We're doomed," stated Taranee, slapping he hand to her forehead.

"Can you close it?" Will asked Cornelia.

"Of course, if I concentrate enough," she answered. Irma leaned over to Hay Lin and stage-whispered, "If that's the case, then Taranee's right: we're doomed!" Cornelia sent a glare towards her before repeating the action she did on the other side. Instead of closing, the hole grew larger before it broke the whole wall!

"Haha, it broke! I guess I need to practice more!" said Cornelia, smiling sheepishly.

Hay Lin blinked at Cornelia blankly before turning around to scan the area.

"Elyon isn't here," informed Hay Lin.

"There's only one place we can look for her," stated Will. Everyone turned to look at Will.

"And where's that, oh Fearless Leader?" asked Irma. Will blinked at the new name, before answering.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls stood outside Elyon Brown's home. Irma turned to look at her.

"Her home," she stated, "_Why _her home?' she asked. She hadn't like this place last time they visited and was just slightly glad it was daytime this time.

Will ignored her question; the answer was obvious. They rounded to the back of the house.

"Hey, the back door's open," stated Irma.

"We can't go in just like that!" argued Taranee as the other girls simply walked in, "My mom is a judge and my dad is a lawyer! I'm sure this isn't legal!"

"Nobody's forcing you," said Cornelia, a smug grin on her face, "you could just wait for us here. Alone."

"Alone? M-maybe I'll come with you," decided Taranee as she rushed in after her friends. Hay Lin looked up, and when she saw how far up the ceilings was, she let out a gasp.

"Woah," she breathed, "This place looks much smaller from the outside."

"Where do we start looking?" asked Taranee. Suddenly a footstep appeared on the dust on the floor, and continued as if someone was walking, yet they couldn't see who was there.

"There," stated Will, "Let's follow them." Half of the last footstep disappeared through the door.

"It leads to the basement," said Hay Lin.

"I think the message is pretty clear," decided Doe as she walked up to the door and opened it. The room was pretty dark, but of course Doe could see. She saw a staircase that reached the basement, which was pretty much empty, with a few stuff pushed up to the walls.

"Could you give us some light, Taranee?" asked Will as she stepped in after Doe.

"Sure," she answered and produced a huge flame that hovered in the center of the room. The girls walked down the stairs and when they reached the bottom, the footsteps vanished.

"They vanished!" exclaimed Irma.

"And there are no doors here," added Will, "Why did she want us here?"

"Come to me, my friends," beckoned Elyon suddenly. They turned to where they heard her voice come from, and saw her appear through the wall, facing them, her arm stretched out in front of her,

"Come to me," she repeated.

"Elyon, is it really you?" asked Will, taking a step towards Elyon before she vanished through the wall again.

"Again a wall," complained Cornelia as she thumped the wall where Elyon had disappeared through, "This is starting to become a habit…but…" she realized that the wall sounded hollow as she thumped it again and again to check.

"It sounds hollow," she told them.

"Let me see," said Irma, walking over to Cornelia. She tore of a piece of the paint that was dry to reveal the brown color of wood instead of the silver that covered the rest of the wall.

"There's a door behind it," Irma informed them, "But it won't open," she added as she pushed on it.

"It doesn't need to, right Cornelia?" asked Doe, smiling slyly at Cornelia who returned it.

"It just needs to get a little wider...." Cornelia said before thrusting her arms forward and created a hole in the wall much like the one back at school, but instead there was a door standing there that toppled backwards when its support left it.

"…and stay out of the way," she finished. They passed through the wall and walked into a long hallway that looked like it had no end. Flames lit up the hall on both sides. There was also a big, green sign on the ground. It was a circle with two triangles on opposite ends.

"What is this place?" asked Will to no one in particular as she looked around in awe.

"If this is a broom store, I have never seen a weirder company," stated Hay Lin. She felt even smaller than she already was in this place. Suddenly, her pocket began to light up like one of Taranee's flames! She didn't notice until Taranee gasped.

"Hay Lin! Your pocket!" she said, pointing at the Air Guardians pocket. Hay Lin reached in and pulled out the map Yan Lin gave her and instantly it stopped glowing.

"It's my grandma's map," explained Hay Lin as she noticed their confused faces, "A drawing of the veil's twelve portals."

"Why didn't you tell us?' asked Will.

"I was going too, but when grandma…" she trailed off, not wanting to continue. Instead, she unfolded the map and everyone crowded around her to take a better look.

"But this is our city. And those spots…" Taranee trailed off.

"Are portals to meta world," finished Hay Lin.

"We have to close them, right?" asked Doe and Hay Lin nodded.

"The first one was the gym," explained Hay Lin, pointing at one of the glowing points.

"And the second one?' asked Irma.

"It's Elyon's house!" realized Will and they all whipped around to look at there surroundings, instantly on guard. Suddenly a wall fell down from nowhere and the girls quickly jumped out of its way before it crushed them all. Doe looked around to see if everyone was okay, but then she noticed that Hay Lin wasn't with them.

"Hay Lin!" she called to the other side of the wall. The other girls noticed this as well and joined her.

"Hay Lin, are you ok?" yelled Will.

"Do something Cornelia, Doe!" panicked Irma, turning to face the Earth Guardian. Doe tried to walk through the wall but ended up smacking into it stupidly.

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"Heeeelp!" yelled Hay Lin from the other side of the wall, "Get me out of here!" she was starting to really panic. Would she ever get out of here?

"What are you afraid of Hay Lin?" asked a voice. Hay Lin quickly turned around and saw Elyon. Behind her was another wall with the same sign as the one on the ground.

"I'm your friend, follow me, Hay Lin," comforted Elyon. A portal like the one Hay Lin saw in the gym appeared behind Elyon.

"No, no!" refused Hay Lin, "You aren't real! This is all just a bad dream!" she said, trying to convince herself that, even though she knew it wasn't true. Suddenly, Vathek stomped out of the portal, a menacing grin on his face.

"Wrong, little girl! This is all true," he growled, "This time you have no way to escape!"

Hay Lin screamed in terror and shielded herself with her arms as he slowly walked towards her.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheTwelvePortals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Meanwhile…**

"Heeelp!" the girls heard Hay Lin scream.

"Oh no! Hay Lin is in danger!" exclaimed Irma.

"Stand back!" ordered Cornelia, thrusting her hand out to the wall, "I'm going to break the wall." Suddenly the bricks form the wall stretched towards her and engulfed her hands so that she couldn't move them. They moved up to her elbows as Cornelia watched in horror.

"H-how?" she stuttered.

"The house is alive! We have to stick together!" ordered Will. Suddenly another wall built itself between the girls and Cornelia, then wrapped itself around her, covering her entire body and face form their view, like a blanket made of bricks.

"Cornelia!" yelled Doe as the other girls screamed.

"_**Metaworld is waiting for you, Cornelia,"**_ Cornelia and the girls heard as the wall wrapped itself around the Earth guardian.

"Nghhh," she growled as she tried to break free of the prison that surrounded her hand and was slowly closing in on her.

"_**You are just wasting your time," **_it continued as bricks fell out of the sky and formed a circular wall all around Taranee.

"_**You can't fight back,"**_ Irma backed against the wall, another wall appeared in front of her and threatened to squish her as it approached slowly.

"_**Don't even try,"**_ a circle of the floor under Doe and Will disappeared. Doe quickly grabbed the edge with one hand and Will's hand with her other one.

"Dream on," she muttered under her breath. 'It can't end like this' thought Will as she looked up at Doe who was struggling to keep them both from falling to their doom. 'The Heart of Kandracar!' she remembered as it appeared in her free hand, 'Help us! We need our powers' she begged it mentally. Suddenly it started glowing bright pink.

"Water!" she yelled as the blue orb flew towards Irma.

"Fire," she exclaimed as the red orb zoomed out.

"Earth," for the green one.

"Darkness," she yelled, "And Air," the silver orb zoomed out of their view and to Hay Lin.

"Hooray!" she cheered as she transformed. Doe found out she could fly (**A/M: cut me some slack, she doesn't have much powers to attack, like a tidal wave or a hurricane so I gave her more special abilities so she can have an advantage and beat the crap out of her opponent!) **and zoomed out of the pit, putting Will safely on the ground.

"Free!" yelled Taranee as she burned the bricks around her.

"Strong!' exclaimed Cornelia as she easily broke through her prison.

"And angry!" added Irma as she demolished the wall that almost crushed her with a jet of water.

**(You all know how the W.I.T.C.H girls transformations look like so I'll describe Doe's only ******** )**

Doe's pinkish-purple shirt finished just a few centimeters above her green skirt, which was designed like Hay Lin. Her left sleeve was long and finished past her wrist and the right side was sleeveless.

"Are you alright girls?" asked Will.

"This is unbelievable!" exclaimed Taranee, who was looking down at herself, "is this really me!?'

"What did I tell you?" asked Irma smugly, who was the most comfortable with the transformation by now, "And the fun's only beginning!"

"No time for fun now," stated Doe, still hovering above them, "Let's get Hay Lin!" she flew straight towards the wall, and closed her eyes, hoping it would work this time. When she opened them, she found a surprised Vathek trying to hurt her friend! 'Can let that happen can we?' she thought.

"Back off, Ugly!" yelled Doe as she zoomed down for a kick. Her foot connected with his jaw just as the wall behind Hay Lin broke and the rest of the guardians ran through.

"Ughh!" groaned Vathek on the ground as he clutched his jaw and used his other hand to shield himself form the rocks.

"Well, look who's here! The same ugly face from last time!' taunted Irma, sticking her tongue out at Vathek. Hay Lin got up and ran towards Irma who hugged her protectively.

"Why aren't you transformed?" asked Will.

"I-I don't know!" stuttered Hay Lin, "I was scared! I was sure I was going to die!"

"And you were right about that!" sneered Vathek as he got up and tried to attack the girls.

"Speak for yourself!" yelled Taranee as she through a fire ball at him, knocking him into the wall and sending bricks flying.

"Not too bad for a beginner," she said, looking in surprise at her hand.

"Stop! Stop!" yelled Elyon. In all the commotion, they hadn't noticed her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked them, seemingly hurt from what they had done.

"Is it you, Elyon?" asked Will.

"Answer us, please," said Cornelia as she took a step towards her friend.

"Fighting is not useful, and when you realize it, it's too late," Elyon told them as Vathek stepped into the portal and vanished.

"What do you mean, Elyon?" asked Will. Elyon was no longer hurt and now she looked at them with anger and… hate.

"Too late," she repeated as she stepped into the portal.

"Wait!" exclaimed Cornelia but Elyon was gone. The portal shined very brightly and then vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving in its place a huge brick, probably the size of half a door, with that weird sign on it.

"What did she mean?" asked Taranee, looking at the other girls for an answer. Hay Lin was standing beside Irma now.

"I don't know. I'm very confused," answered Will, "Where did Elyon go?"

"Look!" pointed Irma to a hole in the brick that had appeared, "It's a book! Maybe it has some answers," she guessed as she picked it up.

"Is there anything else?' asked Cornelia, leaning forward to look in the hole.

"Nope, just a book," answered Irma.

"I think we're pretty good for beginners," declared Cornelia with a confident grin.

"But we need more practice. We won again, without knowing how it happened," pointed out Will.

"Oh, I know how it happened. We kicked monster booty!" declared Doe with that new found grin, thrusting her hand into the air. Hay Lin and Taranee tried to hide their laughter which came out as stifled giggles as Will glared at the three of them.

"We have to study more…" she continued.

"Like we don't have enough to study at school," said Irma, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"Because in the future, we can't make any mistakes," she finished as she glared at Irma as the others joined her.

"You're right but why is everyone looking at me?" asked Irma.

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The next day, somewhere in the woods, the girls were searching for 'Andrew, the frog'. They were walking in a small lake with their pants folded up to the knees so they wouldn't get wet.

"Yuck! I hate insects!" complained Irma, swatting away some flies near her face, "Shouldn't they be in vacation this time of year? The problem is that it's still pretty warm," she explained as Cornelia and Doe glared at the back of her head during her rant, "My dad says that it's because…" but she was interrupted when Cornelia and Doe slapped the back of her neck.

"Ow! What was that for?" asked Irma, frustrated.

"Sorry! You had a bug on your neck," Doe said, as she and Cornelia smiled innocently while Irma glared at them. Hay Lin stifled her giggles.

"We have to hurry," Will reminded them as she looked around.

"Couldn't you have changed him into anything bigger?" Taranee asked Irma, "Or think twice before you turned him into a frog?"

"Fine! I promise to turn the next one into an elephant!" declared Irma angrily.

"You guys…" Hay Lin trailed off as she parted some bushes, "Do frogs usually have hair?"

"No, why?' asked Will as they all walked over to her.

"Then I think we found him," she smiled, pointing at a frog with blond hair on its head.

"Wonderful!' exclaimed Irma as Hay Lin picked up the frog.

"Now, Irma: Kiss him," declared Doe seriously.

"What!" yelped Irma.

"You want to turn him back, right?"


	3. Issue 3: The Dark Dimension Part 1

The Dark Dimension

**A/N: the following scene in **_**italics **_**is a missing scene I misplaced which should go in Chapter 2: Issue 2 the Twelve Portals. Specifically, it is the night after the battle and the day before they were searching for 'Andrew the Frog'.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. Doe Reed, Donahue, Cathal, and Dieter are mine. **

_Irma sat in the bathtub letting the water wash away the action of the day. Irma could see the rays of the setting sun shine through the tiny bathroom window. The window was made so she could see people outside but they couldn't see her, even if she only saw them as blurry figures. She saw the outline of a moving truck park outside the Reeds house and decided to finish her bath so she could see Doe._

_She was about to step out of the bath when she heard a beautiful melody flow though the air. It was faint, so she could only guess Doe was playing the piano next door. Before that fateful Halloween night she had heard her play numerous times but never thought twice about it. Sometimes she had stopped to admire it but never ponder about it. Now, she wanted to hear her friend play, __**see**__ her friend play, which sparked her to move even quicker before the melody stopped. She got dressed and told her mother where she was going before running out the house._

"_Hi, um…are you Mr. Reed?" Irma asked a man who was talking to one of the workers who were moving the furniture. _

"_Yes," he answered, looking surprised. He then turned back to the worker, "One minute, please." After he had excused himself he turned back to Irma._

"_Yes that would be me," he repeated. Irma thought he sounded tired, and he looked a bit sick as well, "Are you one of Domunatrum's friends?" he guessed. Irma couldn't help but grin at the use of Doe's full name._

"_Yes, I'm Irma," she answered. He smiled at this and Irma thought that even his smile seemed tired._

"_Ah yes, Domunatrum has told me about you and a few other girls," he told her, "If you want to see Doe, she's inside."_

"_Thank you," she said before running into their house. The melody was still sounding and Irma finally heard it completely. It was always faint, but still beautiful and now it sounded even more so. She followed the sound and saw Doe sitting at a wooden baby grand piano. On the seat next to the Darkness guardian was a small girl that looked around three years old. Irma watched as Doe got lost in her music, swaying while playing the beautiful song. The small girl next to Doe was watching Doe's hands as they struck each note. When the song ended, Irma started clapping._

_Doe quickly turned her head to the Water Guardian, having not seen her. She quickly got off the seat and the small girl copied her._

"_Irma!" Doe greeted, surprised. The small girl wrapped herself around Doe's leg. It was fairly easy for her, since she was as tall (actually, a few centimeters shorter) than the Darkness Guardian's whole leg._

"_Domunatrum!" Irma said in the same voice. She stressed her whole name, knowing full well she didn't like it. Doe rolled her eyes._

"_I don't know what my parents were thinking, giving me a name like that," Doe muttered before turning to the girl._

"_It's okay Jude," she said gently, "She's my friend, Irma." The girl, now known as Jude, poked her head out to take a glance at Irma but remained attached to Doe's leg. Doe turned back to Irma._

"_She's my little sister, Jude. Don't mind her. Once you get to know her, and once she____get's to know you, she'll never stop talking. She's always like that with strangers."_

"_Sister, huh?" repeated Irma looking at Jude. They certainly didn't look much alike. Jude's long, light brown hair reached her waist while Doe's jet black hair reached a bit past her shoulders. As Jude looked at Irma, the Water Guardian saw her face. Jude had a thin face, while Doe had baby cheeks even for a thirteen year old, giving her that eternal baby look. Either way they both looked slightly intimidating. But Irma saw the real and probably only resemblance when she locked eyes with little Jude. They both had those dark brown eyes, right on the verge of crossing into black. Irma smiled at the small girl which made her quickly turn away and hide her face again._

"_You play the piano really well," complimented Irma, grinning at Doe. Doe smiled before picking up her sister. Jude quickly wrapped her arms around Doe's neck and buried her face into it. _

"_Thanks," she said. Irma noticed an acoustic guitar out of its case leaning against the wall._

"_Guitar too?" asked Irma, surprised, "Just let me sing and we have a band."_

_Doe grinned mischievously, "Hmm, with Cornelia at the drums…ok __**Hay Lin **__at the drums. It could work…" she said thoughtfully, "A new girl band, playing tonight, sold out concert…until they hear us!"_

_Both girls laughed lightly and they heard a slight giggle from Jude._

"_Well, actually, I __**used**__ to play the guitar. I played for a year then I stopped because I wanted to concentrate on the piano. Now that we're moving, I decided to take up guitar again," Doe explained, "Not that we can afford lessons," she added under her breath. Irma frowned at this._

"_If that's what's wrong, how are you learning the guitar?" she asked._

"_Oh, I'm teaching myself, based on what I already know," Doe explained, "Have a seat," she gestured to the chair and sat down on the couch opposite it. Irma obliged. Jude let go of Doe and sat down next to her older sister. _

"_Are mommy and daddy better?" she asked Doe in a small voice Irma could barely hear._

"_Better?" asked Irma. Doe looked at Irma, her mouth no longer smiling and the intimidating look intensified._

"_I'll explain later," She said before turning back to her sister, "Yes Jude, much better, and they'll be fine soon." Jude nodded, satisfied. She got down from her seat and ran out of the room._

"_So, you gonna explain or should I not bother?" asked Irma, "Actually don't answer that. You might wanna explain." She wasn't going to let Doe slip past her on this one._

"_Well, my parents are ill," she told her and stopped, "That's pretty much it."_

"_No, it isn't," insisted Irma. Suddenly Doe snapped._

"_What do you know about what goes on in my life!?" she snapped a bit harsher that she intended. She had jumped out of her seat and instantly went on the defensive. Irma frowned at her friend's outburst._

"_I don't know, that why I'm asking you!" she yelled back jumping up as well._

"_And I answered!" Doe retorted. The room was suddenly filled with an awkward silence as both girls searched for something else to say. Suddenly, Doe sighed and sat down. She put her face in her hands._

"_Look I'm sorry," Doe apologized. Irma was shocked. She had taken Doe to be the stubborn type. She managed to gather herself and answer Doe._

"_Hey, don't worry about it!" she said in her carefree manner, hoping to lighten the mood. When it didn't work, she hesitated, thinking of what to say next._

"_How about we forget about this?" Irma asked. Okay, maybe she __**would**__ let Doe get away with this one. Doe looked up, and gave a small smile. Irma responded with a huge grin._

"_Sure," she agreed. Irma noted that she sounded quite relieved but decided not to press it._

"_Thank goodness!" whistled Irma, "I wasn't so sure what to do there!" Doe smiled at her friend's happiness; everything would be ok. Well, almost everything._

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheDarkDimension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A normal Sunday can be a very special day for some people. The guardians were about to find out how true that was. They had gathered at an abandoned construction site. Well most of them anyways. Doe had yet to show up. When they did they would start their first training session as Guardians. Cornelia was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the Darkness Guardian to arrive. She huffed. This was not very nice of Doe.

Hay Lin looked up from her place on the ground. She was twirling a flower in her hand when she heard someone running towards them.

"Hey Doe!" she called just as the girl jumped over the fence that surrounded the site. The other girls looked up.

"Hey sorry I'm late," she apologized as she came to a stop in front of them. Cornelia opened her mouth to scold her but Will beat her to it.

"Doe, please, next time, be on time. I know how weird this sounds, but apparently, we're the ones supposed to save the world," Will said. Doe nodded.

"Yeah, I won't do it again," she answered, "Mom" she added under her breath. Hay Lin giggled and Irma stifled a laugh. Irma then pushed Doe playfully.

"It's me who's normally late," Irma teased, "But I could get used to this."

"Well, don't," retaliated Doe, "It's not going to last much longer."

"Are you guys done?" asked Cornelia exasperated. Taranee raised an eyebrow at her impatience.

"Aaanyway," cut in Hay Lin, "Take a look at this," she turned to a pillar which was only built half way, but was still huge. Taranee's eyes widened as she thrust her hands towards it and called a gust of wind to lift it high into the air, ripping it out of its place in the ground

"Hah!" Hay Lin declared in triumph, "What do you think?" she asked her friends, never taking her eyes of the pillar.

"Awesome," Taranee heard Irma breath next to her and she couldn't help but agree. But apparently, Cornelia didn't think the same.

"It's good," she shrugged. At this, Hay Lin tore her eyes away from the pillar to turn to glare at Cornelia. At once, the pillar fell to the ground and smashed.

"_It's good_?!" asked Hay Lin disbelief, "That's it!?"

"I can do _just_ a lot better," she stated confidently.

"Of couuuurse!" drawled Irma dramatically, "Miss Genius can do _everything_ better that others!"

"Yell a little louder Irma," said Cornelia in a bored voice, unfazed.

"Yeah Irma," agreed Doe, "Yell _much_ louder," she grinned. Irma grinned.

"Miss Genius can do everything better than others!" she yelled at the top of her voice in a snooty, obnoxious tone. She had just the right tone this time. Cornelia's eyes narrowed and she thrust her hands to another half-built pillar.

"Shut up and open your eyes instead," she ordered. She turned to the pillar, instantly making vines grow out of the floor around it. They climbed up the pillar and wrapped themselves around it. Cornelia closed her hands into fists and instantly, the vines crushed the pillar into millions of tiny pieces, "I bet you can't do anything like that!" Will's eyes widened. She had definitely topped Hay Lin with that one. She turned to the duo to see how they would counter this one.

"Ha! Real amazing! I have never seen anything dumber!" Irma said, turning away from Cornelia. Cornelia turned around to yell at Irma but Will quickly jumped in.

"Don't start now, ok?" ordered Will, "We came here to practice, not to fight each other," she said. Cornelia and Irma turned away from each other and both huffed exasperatedly. Hay Lin stifled a laugh at their childish acts.

"Will's right," Taranee agreed, "We have to start working together; we're a team now," Hay Lin's face instantly fell and she sat down on a forgotten piece of cement, pulling her knees towards her.

"Maybe, but we still aren't very sure of what we need to do," Hay Lin sighed, "I wish my grandma could have told me more." Neither Will nor any of the others were used to Hay Lin being negative, so she immediately went to try to cheer her up.

"In my opinion we know enough," stated Will. _Okay, maybe not the best comforting words,_ Will thought in dismay as Hay Lin still sat sulkily on the rock. Irma was about to comfort her – hopefully better than Will had – but Cornelia sidetracked her.

"You think that's enough!" fumed Cornelia, gesturing wildly around her as if it showed the hopeless situation they were in, "Look around you Will! We can do magic! Forces of nature are our powers. We can control them, but we still don't know why!"

"Umm… because we're the veil's new guardians," reminded Hay Lin as she stood up.

"Thank you for brightening my day!" snapped Cornelia sarcastically, "But why?! Why us; why not some other six girls?!

"C'mon! We're a lot cuter than all the others!" Irma batted her eyelashes, "Isn't that enough!"

"Now isn't the right time to be joking, Irma," growled Cornelia.

"Actually," Doe jumped in, "I think it's a good time. If things go wrong, why not at least try to laugh instead of cry? Except things haven't gone wrong yet…" she said the last part mostly to herself. The others stood in silence and shock at Doe. If you had asked them to describe Doe just _yesterday_ they would have said something like that she was reserved, somewhat shy, maybe charismatic and funny, and _very_ intimidating. Now she was showing her charismatic side much more, and they wondered if she was _ever_ shy.

Cornelia snapped out her shock and sunk into disbelief at Doe's words.

"Our lives have changed, and somebody has made that decision for us, yet you think this is a good time to crack jokes!?" she growled in disbelief.

"You're right Cornelia, our lives have changed, but what can I say to you?" Doe asked. Cornelia was shocked at her bluntness and was about to snap at her before Will stepped in…again.

"Cornelia, we don't have all the answers, we only know the same things you do," reasoned Will.

"Oh, so the boss doesn't have the answers to everything?" snapped Cornelia. Taranee was intimidated at her tone, and was glad that she hadn't stepped into this fight, though she knew she ought to. Fortunately, Will had done that for her.

"I don't!" Will huffed, "I'm not even sure if I'm 'the boss'_,_" she stated calmly. Hay Lin decided to jump in now before Cornelia could throw another retort.

"Maybe the answers are in the book we found at Elyon's house," she recommended, pulling out the particular book from her bag.

"Wrong, Hay Lin!" Cornelia stated, turning to the air wielder, "That book is just our first problem."

"Have you tried to open it?" asked Taranee, trying to avoid any subjects that could bring up more fighting.

"Are you kidding? I have crawled on the thing like a maniac but it won't budge!" Hay Lin answered, proving her point as she grabbed the book and tried with all her strength to bring the pages to open but to no avail. Suddenly, Will was hit with a wave of nausea.

"That book…" Will said weakly as she clutched her head, "It has some kind of spell…" she trailed off and Taranee instantly knew what was happening again.

"Put it away!" she told Hay Lin urgently. Hay Lin quickly stuffed the book back into her bag.

"You got that strange feeling again?" asked Irma. Will was regaining her footing and Doe - who had instantly gone on guard when Will was stumbling - relaxed again.

"Yeah, I felt a little dizzy like I had butterflies in my stomach," Will personally thought that was an understatement but continued anyway, "Don't worry; I'll get used to it."

"Maybe it's something you ate," guessed Irma, lightening up the mood.

"Or saw," added Doe, looking at Irma. Irma frowned and went to retaliate.

"Hey! One second you're on my side the next you're on Cornelia's!" Irma complained lightheartedly, "Just whose side are you on?"

"That time, I was on Taranee's" she grinned.

"Hey! Don't bring me into this!" Taranee pointed an accusing finger at Doe, though she was trying hard to hide her laugh. Will – however - didn't make any effort to hide her amusement.

"Hahaha! Maybe she was!" she smiled. Irma looked at Taranee suspiciously as she (Irma) continued to play her role in this little joke.

"Hmmm," she stroked her chin, "What are you trying to say?" she asked, supposedly clueless.

"Are you sure you're not a blond, Irma?" laughed Hay Lin. She stopped when Cornelia turned to glare at her.

"Sorry," she whispered before jumping to change the subject, "Aaanyway, about that little butterfly feeling…" she pressed for Will to continue as she kept an eye on Cornelia who was still glaring at her.

"The feeling lasts only for a couple of seconds then… ugh, it's hard to explain," Will told them.

"Actually," Will tried again, "It's the same feeling a get when the math teacher asks me to solve a question on the board!" she laughed sheepishly.

"Aha! So you _are_ scared of something!" Hay Lin smiled from ear to ear, glancing at Cornelia out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey wait a minute! Maybe the math teacher is a creature from Metaworld!" said Irma as she did her best to imitate a monster.

"Miss Rudolph? But she's so nice!" insisted Taranee. Irma draped her arm over the Fire guardian's shoulder and stage-whispered, "You never know," she said then added, louder, "I mean, it's not normal to dedicate your whole life to math, eh?" Taranee erupted into a fit laughter which was cut short by Will.

"Okay, break time is over, let's continue practicing," Will stated seriously, though she was smiling at the joke.

"I would love to try our powers combined. Let's try that!" Hay Lin decided happily, "Maybe… combining water and earth?" she suggested, earning her even more death glares from Cornelia. Let's face it, she probably made the top ten list of "people Cornelia must kill".

"Maybe the power of mud!" laughed Doe. Irma and Cornelia were locked in a staring contesting before all hell broke loose.

"I'll start!" Cornelia declared, rushing to stand in front of Irma.

"No me!" Irma argued. They pushed and shoved until both girls were standing with their arms stretched out to the land on front of them. A green streak with a blue one circling it shot out high into the air before zooming into the ground. Everything was silent for a second before the earth starting shacking and rumbling underneath them.

"Oops!" yelped Irma. All the girls ducked for cover as a _humongous_ geyser of water erupted out of the ground. The girls were drenched as it continued to pour.

"Yuck! Happy now?" Cornelia complained, trying to ignore the fact that Irma had totally one-upped her.

"Oh no! You need at least a truck of shampoo for your hair now!" Irma joked grinning from ear to ear as they continued to get drenched. They could here Doe and Hay Lin laughing and twirling in the 'rain' as Taranee gazed in horror at the huge hole in the ground.

"Stop!" yelled Will, thrusting her hand out at the water. Immediately, the water shot back into the ground and the hole closed. Everybody gazed at Will.

"Umm… where were we?" Will asked, smiling sheepishly.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheDarkDimension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**That night…**

Three silhouetted figures walked in the darkness side by side. They were all clearly men. The one furthest to the left was the tallest, standing at around 6'2. He had a long sword draped across his back. The man in the middle was the shortest (5,9). He held to twin daggers, both dangling from his left hip. On his right hip was a short sword. The last man stood at about 6'0. Grasped in his right hand was a long double-edged sword. They wore weird outfits that would seriously give them some attention in a crowd. But the street was deserted. In fact all the houses looked deserted. They stopped outside a house. It was shabby looking, and had carton boxes lying outside. It seemed like the only house on the street that had occupants since there was a light shining from the window.

"Are you sure this is her house?" asked the shortest man. His voice was deep, but sounded young.

"When am I _not _correct?" hissed the man with the double-edged sword. His voice was deeper than the man who spoke before him, but did not sound young at all. It was rough, and sounding as if his vocal cords were scraping in effort to speak. The tallest man huffed. He could think of many times. The middle man sent him a glare which he ignored.

"Well then, let's finish what we came here to do," he said and walked toward the house while brandishing his long sword from its sheath. The middle man growled before following him, twirling his double-edged sword.

"What if it's the wrong house?" asked the shortest man.

"You worry too much, Dieter," answered the tallest man. The man now known as Dieter sighed and brandished his twin daggers. He followed the other men to the door. The tallest man listened at the door. He could hear the sound of laughter.

"They're here," he confirmed.

"Of course they're here Donahue," hissed the last man. Donahue frowned.

"Just remember, we kill everyone, we get out, that's it," Donahue said. He then looked at the middle man, "Got it Cathal?"

"I know when to kill and when to torture Donahue. Don't tell me what to do," Cathal retaliated. With that, he stretched out his hand and a red beam of who-knows-what shot the door straight off its hinges and through the wall on the other side. The other two men jumped in after him. Donahue noticed a girl with black hair lying on the floor clutching her arm which was bleeding badly.

'She must have been in the way of the blast,' he thought. The dark part of him - and that was the bigger part – wanted to leave her there in pain and finish her off later. So he did just that. He jumped into the other room and saw a woman and man bleeding from several wounds (Donahue knew this was Cathal's doing) holding each other for dear life.

"Please…please leave my children and wife alone," pleaded the dying man. Cathal let out a maniac laugh. He held his sword high and plunged it straight through the man's heart. The woman screamed and cried. She was holding onto a little girl no older than three. Dieter winced. Donahue heard a strangled cry from behind him.

'The girl,' he thought, 'that must have been her father'. He joined Cathal in his laugh. Dieter raised his dagger and threw it. It soared through the air and pinned the woman, who was trying to crawl away, to the wall. She still clutched onto the little girl. They were both crying. The girl Donahue had left to die rushed over to her mother and sister. He watched as she completely ignored the three men in the room and picked up the little girl.

'This is her,' he thought. He laughed as he watched Cathal raise his sword and skewer the woman. The girl screamed and turned to glare at Cathal. This caused him to laugh even more. Donahue watched the girl clutch her little sister to her chest. This made him chuckle. She looked at him and their eyes met. He seemed to fall deep into her dark eyes and he stopped laughing. Cathal's laughs seemed to fade into the background. Donahue shook himself out of her eyes.

"Cathal. Dieter. I got this covered. I want to have some fun as well," he ordered them. Cathal laughed.

"As you wish, my brother. Come on Dieter, let's go. This was boring; I thought she would fight back," Cathal walked out with Dieter on his heels. Donahue turned his attention to the girl.

"Don't scream," he whispered. He stretched out his hand towards her and looked into her eyes one more time. She glared at him.

"I hate you," she whispered. Her voice was filled with so much venom he recoiled before gathering himself once again. Ice flowed out of his hand and froze the girl and her sister in their places. He knew the little girl died. He knew the older girl could still see him.

"I know," he whispered. He took the twin dagger from the dead body of the woman and walked out the house and to his brothers. She would live. Well, as much as she could now anyway. He wouldn't live if his brother found out.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheDarkDimension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**The next day…**

Cornelia and Taranee watched Will agree with Miss. Rudolph, their math teacher, to tutoring lessons.

"I didn't know you starting hanging out with teachers Will," teased Taranee as they all walked together away from the school.

"Miss Rudolph is really nice. She could have given me a bad grade but agreed to tutor me," insisted Will.

"And she would have given you a bad grade if I hadn't saved you," Cornelia reminded her. Just last period, Will had fallen asleep then was asked to answer a question on the board. Cornelia had saved her from embarrassment by ringing the bell using her powers.

"Thanks," Will laughed sheepishly.

"I hope Doe's okay; she wasn't at school today," worried Taranee.

"Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow. She probably just has the flu," insisted Cornelia. As they passed an outdoor restaurant, Cornelia spotted something.

"It seems its genetic in your family to hang out with teachers Will," Cornelia said.

"What?"

Cornelia turned Will around to face her mother and their history teacher, Mr. Dean Collins, sitting at the same table. Alone. Laughing. Holding hands. Will let out a strangled sob. Her mother heard her and turned to see her daughter running away.

"Will!" Susan, Cornelia, and Taranee called. Susan ran after her daughter and grabbed her arm tenderly.

"Will, let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain. You shouldn't be going out with that creep!" sobbed Will.

"It isn't a date Will! It's my company and your school doing business!"

"Yeah right! I saw you two holding hands! Just leave me alone!" With that said, Will ran off just as tears began to fall down her face. Dean came behind Susan and put her hands around her.

"Susan…" he trailed off.

"I can't do anything right Dean."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheDarkDimension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**The next morning…**

"We shouldn't be here Irma!" Hay Lin wondered how she got here. Here meaning inside their teacher, Miss. Rudolph's house! They had skipped school to sneak into their math teacher's house based on Irma insisting that their math teacher was a monster. Hay Lin was sure she had said no to Irma's scheme, but then the Water Guardian brought out the puppy dog eyes and Hay Lin caved. So here they were.

"Relax Hay Lin; you're the one who got us in anyway," Irma reminded her.

"It's not that hard to use the key Miss. Rudolph hid outside the house under the vase. It's also much easier than trying to use a phone card to open the door, Irma…" Hay Lin gazed accusingly at her.

"It works in movies!"

"Anyway, I better put the key back," Hay Lin walked over to the window, opened it, and blew the key back under the vase using her powers.

"What did you do that for!? Now we're stuck in here!" yelled Irma.

"Oops," muttered Hay Lin. Irma smacked her forehead in exasperation.

"You just stay here and guard the door."

"Ay ay Captain!" Hay Lin said with a salute. Irma couldn't help but grin at Hay Lin as she set off to find anything. She had searched the whole lower floor when she heard Hay Lin shriek.

"What, did you find anything?" Irma called to her as she ran back to the door.

"No, but someone's going to find us! Miss. Rudolph is coming!" squeaked Hay Lin.

"Okay, okay, don't panic!" said Irma as Hay Lin began to shake. Irma looked around frantically and spotted a storage closet.

"Let's hide in there!" The girls ran in the closet just in time. Miss. Rudolph entered the house. Irma watched her through the keyhole of the closet. She watched as their math teacher opened her mouth to bite her pineapple… revealing her amazingly sharp teeth. She took off her shoes. Her normal feet turned green and scaly and she had three toes and a forth one on her heel. Irma began to shake as Miss. Rudolph's skin turned green and scaly and her short blond hair turning into brown dreadlocks. Irma gasped.

"What is it, Irma?" asked Hay Lin, concerned about her best friend.

"Catch me Hay Lin… I think I'm going to faint," muttered Irma before dropping onto the floor with a thump. Hay Lin knew that the noise must have attracted Miss. Rudolph's attention but she was too worried about her friend to process that fact. She crawled over to Irma side and held her friend.

"Irma… Irma please wake up!"

Suddenly the closet door opened. Hay Lin turned to see a monster.

"HEEEEEEEEEELP!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TheDarkDimension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
